Full Moon
by Asami-chann
Summary: Five years had been a long time. Can the regulars save Ryoma from darkness? Very Twisted. Lots of language. Character Death.
1. The Time

**Welcome to 'Full Moon', the twisted sequel of 'The Search for Blood'. I don't live in America, so most of it is made up from what I know about it. So, Thomerson's creek may exist, but I made it up in this. That's it really. Read, review and enjoy, as always.**

**Chapter one – The Time**

Tezuka Kunimitsu, former captain of Seishun Gakuen's tennis team, and currently in university, sat in his desk chair, tapping his ballpoint pen on the page. He had an article to write for the university's campus newsletter. But Tezuka had reached an impasse. He had nothing to write about the campus' café and library; he never used the school's extra facilities. Unlike most students who attended the same university, he lived close enough to still live in his parents' house and commute two stations to school, a total of ten minutes, or his father would insist on driving him there anyway. It didn't matter that Tezuka was in fact old enough to get a license. Not only that, his father purchased every book they had ever read or been interested in, always saying that one day, 'you might need that book and you're in trouble if you can't find it.'

Tezuka sighed just a little, his friends – the source of not only his joy but most of his misery - slowly had convinced him that some, note 'some' expression of emotion was good. On occasion, he had a rather small smile and, on very few occasions, some heard him laugh. You could hear his emotions in his tone of voice, too. You could tell when he was frustrated or angry, in pain or if he was upset – this he always denied. Eiji – he, Inui and Oishi attended the same university - was determined he saw Tezuka cry that day, but Tezuka had always said that he had done no such thing.

Tezuka stretched, the long hours of the night slowly taking its toll. If he wasn't a vampire, therefore needing very little sleep, he would have been just that: asleep. Article done or not.

The cause of Tezuka's pain was Oishi this time, persuading Tezuka to help him by writing an article for the newsletter the night before it was due. Generally, it was about politics, racism or technology, all of which he got a daily update at the dinner table.

Tezuka looked at what he had written and instantly scratched it out. He had no idea of what to write. Absolutely nothing. Not a single spark of inspiration.

Tezuka looked at his phone flashing at him. He had saved up for it through competitions – tennis, of course – and work. It came everywhere with him, his entire life programmed into the tiny machine.

"Hello?" Tezuka asked as he picked up the phone.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu?" the reply came as.

Tezuka sat back in his chair. "Yes, who is this?"

"Echizen Nanjirou."

Tezuka was a bit more than a little surprised. "How are you, Echizen-san?"

"Tired, I think. How are you?"

"A little annoyed with one of my friends, to be honest. How can I help you?" Tezuka asked, the chair rocking from side to side.

"Right to the point then. Rinko and I need the old Seigaku team's help," Nanjirou explained, "You see, the kid has practically died."

Tezuka stopped still. "I'm very sorry to hear that, Echizen-san," Tezuka apologised.

"No, no. Not like that. He is still _alive,_" Nanjirou chuckled. "Ryoma's just very disconnected from everyone; he doesn't talk much – not unless he's forced to. He won't eat or sleep, and he's skin and bone, you see. He's always pale and it's very obvious he doesn't sleep. Even teachers at school are worried, considering he ignores the classes and is always at the top of class anyway, which means he would have to study. The only problem is, we _never _see him study anymore."

Tezuka was truly shocked. Surely this wasn't the same Echizen Ryoma who was once their freshman regular. "Do you know what may have caused this?" Tezuka asked, putting down the pen and bringing the swivel chair's movements to a halt.

"We think leaving Japan contributed," Nanjirou started, "but we know that it became a major problem when he was forced to watch his grandmother's murder. He was fourteen and still mostly that arrogant brat you knew him as. After that, he didn't utter a word for months, probably over a year. He always checked the Japanese tennis news though and his phone and email every day, but eventually, that stopped and he's become the pale, insomniac he is today."

Tezuka uncrossed his legs. "Well, how can we help?"

Nanjirou chuckled. "Well," he said, "Rinko and I discussed this and as soon as you're all available, we'll fly you over. Money really isn't an issue. Between Rinko being a lawyer and I a former tennis pro, money is very easy to come by."

Tezuka was curious just to how much Nanjirou had earned being a pro. "I will speak to them in the morning. One or two may be absent."

"Thank you, Tezuka. By the way, isn't it three in the morning in Japan right now?" Nanjirou pointed out.

Tezuka checked the time. "Fifteen minutes to four."

"I hope I didn't wake you up," Nanjirou apologised.

"It's okay," Tezuka said, "Oishi conned me into writing an article for the university newspaper about the library and café, both of which I don't use and it's due in the morning."

Nanjirou sounded like he was smiling. "Go into the café before school and buy a drink, comment on the service and libraries are all the same, aren't they? Say it's quiet and resourceful. Article done in ten minutes," Nanjirou said, "Rinko gets me to help since I do nothing all day. If I wasn't so lazy, I could be a good lawyer, actually."

Tezuka chuckled. From what he saw, Nanjirou was very lazy. "Thank you, Echizen-san."

"Please, call me Nanjirou. Oh, when you know, just call and everything will be ready, school exemptions and all," Nanjirou said, "and get some sleep."

Tezuka chuckled very quietly, though he was mostly serious. "Bye, Nanjirou. I'll call as soon as I know."

He put the phone on the desk, picking up his pen and beginning to write about the library. He smiled just a little. Why didn't he think of that?

--

Everything was silent, not the creak of the upstairs floor, nor the quiet ringing from Karupin's collar. Gently, rain hit the roof in a steady rhythm.

"Silence again," Nanjirou mumbled, turning the page of his wife's law magazine. Rinko had taken all of Nanjirou's adult magazines and shredded them, the fragments used in Karupin's litter box. "Great."

Nanjirou got up and the sound of the door. It was much too early for Ryoma to be home.

He walked quietly, leaving the house almost silent so his distressed wife could get some rest. He opened the front door.

"Hello?" he asked, his voice fairly quiet. The front door was near the master bedroom.

"Echizen-san," Tezuka greeted.

Nanjirou lightened, hope standing in his doorway. "Tezuka! It's Nanjirou. Call me Nanjirou," he said, "Come in. Rinko is asleep so be quiet, please."

The old regulars, those apparent anyway, followed, unsure of what to expect as they entered a sitting room very similar to a Japanese room. A low table with small cushions around the base to sit on, a blanket and cushion to sit on, and a small heater underneath to warm them up in the winter weather.

"Sit, sit," Nanjirou ushered. "I take it Tezuka told you everything."

They all nodded. "Poor O'chibi," Eiji commented, "where is he, anyway?"

Nanjirou smiled at Ryoma's old nickname. "He should be heading home from school soon, but sometimes he goes to Thomerson's creek."

Oishi smiled. "We'll wait. Is the school nearby?"

Nanjioru shrugged. "Ten minutes by car. It's the main school in the area. It's got a hopeless tennis team though. Usually they're disqualified a lot. Ryoma doesn't play much anymore, anyway. It's surprising he can, actually."

Momo frowned. "Echizen not playing tennis is hard to believe. I won't believe it. I can't believe it," Momo said.

"It does seem pretty unlikely," Taka muttered.

Inui pushed up his glasses. "Three percent chance," he rambled off, giving assorted statistics.

"It is weird. I always imagined he'd be a pro by now," a female voice spoke, catching Nanjirou by surprise.

"W-who are you? You're not from Seigaku, are you?" he asked.

"Ah, sorry," she smiled, "I'm Tachibana An. I'm from Fudomine. My brother was the captain and I came because I wanted to help."

Nanjirou smiled. "Your brother is the blonde one? Well, black when it's short, but blonde." An smiled. "That's him."

Kaidoh let out an instinctive low hiss, his friendship with Ryoma telling him to come but his acquaintances and such in America were begging him to go back to Japan. He had almost declined coming if he didn't hear everything Ryoma had been through.

The sounds of a car pulling up in the driveway were enough sign Ryoma was home. The front door opened, Ryoma balancing his extra school books in his frail arms.

"Tadaima," the quietest voice said.

"Ryoma, you're home!" Rinko said from upstairs, "but you're all wet. Didn't the car roof work? Is the switch broken?"

Ryoma dropped his school bag on the floor as he took off his shoes. "It's caught. I'll fix it when I can walk outside and see," he merely said quietly, his voice was almost a natural whisper.

Nanjirou smiled a little. "Ryoma, come here!" he called. He turned to the others. "He'll be a few minutes probably. Nothing is instant."

As Nanjirou said, Ryoma had gone to his room, sorted out his school books, found a towel and was drying his hair as he walked into the Japanese-style living room.

The eight were taken by surprise. He looked barely taller than a third year at junior high school/middle school yet to _get _his growth spurt. He was pale and his golden eyes weren't as bright as they used to be. His eyes harboured heavy bags, evidence of lack of sleep. It was surprising how his legs could even carry his weight, his entire body sickly thin.

Nanjirou looked at the regulars who were in shock; none of them had pictured Ryoma like this.

"O'chibi!" Eiji cried, the first to speak. He leaped over to Ryoma, pulling Ryoma into a tight embrace. "We missed you so much," he said.

Momo was the next to speak, putting a hand on Ryoma's head. "You're still short," Momo joked, "we needed you through the years. No one was as good a player as you."

Oishi smiled. "Those two will never change," he said, reminiscently.

Taka nodded. "They'll always be like that."

Ryoma pulled Eiji and Momo off with ease, used to being spontaneously attacked by seniors. Either that or they'd pretend they were his friends.

His eyes were cold as he walked off, completely ignoring them all. An shivered. "He's so cold," she murmured.

Nanjirou sighed. "I'm sorry," he apologised, "I told you he's completely different."

Tezuka folded his arms. "Very much so. It's understandable. I'm surprised he even let Eiji and Momo touch him."

Nanjirou smiled. "That's true. I'll see if I can get him to at least talk to you," Nanjirou said, standing and walking off, the regulars, plus An, sitting in silence.

"I wonder how Fuji would react," Eiji thought aloud.

--

Ryoma sighed, shifting through his mail to decide what he wanted to read first. Karupin jumped up on Ryoma's bed, curling up in a small ball. Ryoma sighed again, sitting down, pulling a case from his pocket. The absence of sleep had assisted in the deterioration of his eye sight. The incident from the Junior Nationals in Japan had changed to become only when he was over tired, but that was all of the time now.

He rubbed the glass clean, fogged up and wet from the rain while he tried to get the hard top on his car to close. He was seventeen now and taken complete advantage of his age. Having a car meant he could go anywhere he wanted, when he wanted. His dad never drove his old car anyway – his license had expired not long after Ryoma was born – and so Ryoma took it.

The glasses slid onto his face, Ryoma now being able to read what the letters were. Generally, they were tennis tournaments or notices, occasionally the odd fangirl who obviously didn't know what he looked like or were interested in dying insomniacs. The fangirl letters were instantly shredded, providing more kitty litter for Karupin.

"Ryoma," Nanjirou said from the doorway.

Ryoma paid no attention, reading through his letters. He had no interest in his old team.

"Ryoma," Nanjirou said again, "talk to them. They came all of this way for you."

Ryoma remained silent. He just read through his letters, making a decision if he should continue as he knew the point of it. Sponsors, coaches, teams; they all wanted him to play for them. He'd gotten so many offers, even international, that he had turned down. He'd gone to too many tennis clubs that didn't stand a chance. If Ryoma didn't fail all of the health examinations, he'd be a pro indefinitely.

Nanjirou sighed, grabbing Ryoma by the collar. "You need to stop moping around. It's been years now and you're killing yourself, really." Nanjirou growled, incredibly annoyed at his son, "You're ruining your friends, your family!"

Ryoma looked at Nanjirou with a cold glare. "What friends?" he asked, catching Nanjirou by surprise.

"What happened to them, Ryoma? Your American friends left you because you closed yourself off from the world and your Japanese friends are downstairs waiting."

Ryoma, looking rather annoyed by his father but barely phased by his old teammates sitting downstairs. "Che," he groaned, resuming with the letters.

Nanjirou looked at Ryoma, his hand dropping to his side. "I'll tell the seven boys and An-chan to go then. Maybe you'll wake up to yourself, over the next week or so," Nanjirou said, walking off.

"Seven?" Ryoma asked. He did not imagine an extra regular for that entire year.

"Tezuka, the worrying one, the quiet bit goes crazy when holding a racket one, the creepy one with glasses and notebook, the one who usually has a bandana on, the bouncy one and the loud one. I don't know their names."

Tezuka-buchou, Oishi-senpai, Kawamura-senpai, Inui-senpai, Kaidoh-senpai, Eiji-senpai and Momo-senpai, Ryoma's mind translated. "where's Syuusuke?"

Nanjirou, realising he had Ryoma's interest, smiled. He stole Ryoma's glasses so he couldn't read. It was like he was in a permanent sleepy gaze, but his other senses were as sharp as ever. Not even seniors could catch Ryoma by surprise at school.

Nanjirou grinned. "Come downstairs for a little while or I won't give them back," Nanjirou threatened.

Ryoma would have smirked, but he stared straight into his father's eyes. "I'll get my spare from Thomerson's creek."

Nanjirou smiled. "With what car? I've got sets of keys," Nanjirou replied with a chuckle in his words.

"Hot wire," Ryoma said as he folded his arms.

"Glasses."

Ryoma, admitting defeat, sat on his bed. "You'll give them back if I talk to them?" Ryoma clarified.

Nanjirou smiled. "Take them out for a little while and you might get a dry car on your return."

"Bribery is bad," Ryoma stated, walking out of the room. Nanjirou knew Ryoma. Bribes, when well chosen, could work on Ryoma. It was the main way the pair communicated now. Rinko claimed it was just a dirty trick, but there was no getting through to the pair.

Ryoma, having given up on his previous plan to ignore the regulars until they had left, walked into the Japanese-style room again.

"Senpai…" he spoke, the single word making him feeling slightly reminiscent. Of course, he caught the team's attention.

"Echizen," Tezuka's voice almost echoed, "it's good to see you again."

Ryoma nodded a little. "How… is… Japan?" Ryoma struggled to say. The person he talked to the most was his troublesome father and that was limited at best.

Oishi smiled, understanding as Ryoma struggled. "Mostly the same, really. It's been difficult winning tournaments without you," he smiled, "between Rikkai Dai, Hyotei and other teams. We fight for the top every year."

"Don't forget Shitenhouji. They're usually in the semifinals," An smiled. "Fudomine's been trying really hard. We're one of the top five or so."

Ryoma, who had not noticed An in the room, looked at her. "Ah, are the members the same?"

An grinned. "More or less," she shrugged.

Momo couldn't help but have a wide, childish grin on his face as he slung an arm over An's shoulders. "Yukimura – his royal 'highness' – sends his greetings. Akaya and Atobe said something, but I didn't listen," Momo said, "Yukimura is more of a royal pain in the a-"

"Momo."

"Neck," Momo smiled, a slight chuckle in his voice. Obviously, Oishi still didn't appreciate bad language if 'ass' counted.

Eiji bounced up and down. "So, you'll talk to us now, O'chibi?" Eiji asked. "Yay! Nya, let's go out somewhere."

Taka smiled. "Maybe some food places, tennis courts or anywhere would be nice. It's my first time overseas," he thought aloud.

Eiji bounced over to Taka. "Mine too. What about you, Oishi?"

Oishi smiled gently. "I went to London once. Oji-kun insists I've been to Canada too, but I must have been really little," Oishi said with a smile.

Momo looked more pumped than ever. "Yes! Let's go! Hamburger, hamburger!" Momo shouted, once again occupied with food.

The nine of them left in a group, Ryoma more by force, as Nanjirou smiled and waved. "Have fun!" he said as he watched them all go out the front door. Ryoma, who left the room last, shot a glance backwards as if he were in pain.

Rinko came up to her husband's side as she held his side. "I hope he gets better," she smiled as she kissed his cheek. She held onto him tightly, the sight of her son like he was only upsetting her. She missed the boy that Ryoma used to be. A tear rolled down her cheek as she rested her head on Nanjirou's shoulder. "I really do."

--

**Please review! I hope you liked it. Tell me what you thought so far. =D**

**Asami-chann.**

**Beta'd copy posted: 3rd July 2009  
**


	2. Addiction

**Chapter two – Addiction**

Five years had certainly been a long time. Being with Ryoma had become tiring, he had not even bothered to pretend he wanted to be there anymore. The whole time, his face said exactly what the others were thinking of him. Ryoma was there because he had to be. As soon as they finished getting the hamburgers Momo wanted and Ryoma showed them the local tennis courts – there, Ryoma was 'harrassed' by the coach to try and get Ryoma to play for the club – he had gone home, barely a word to say good bye or 'thanks for coming overseas for me'.

Eiji sighed, holding his chin. "O'chibi really is cold now," he sighed. "Nya…"

Oishi put a hand on Eiji's shoulder. "I'm sure he doesn't mean to be," Oishi smiled, though he doubted his own words. He had never met someone so outwardly rude to their friends. Were they even friends even more?

Eiji sat down on a low brick ledge. "It's like both Ryoma and Fujiko live in different worlds to us now," he sighed, no enthusiasm in his voice. His chin rested on his hand, an upset look tarnishing his face.

"Fuji has been rather cold as well," Taka said. "Ever since he started to help at Confinement, he's been very detached."

"Come on, we should go to the motel. It'd be suspicious if we never get there," An suggested, "and, unlike you all, I do need sleep."

--

Fuji Syuusuke once took pride on his rather calm and in control nature. In any situation, he'd come out on top: victorious. It had been that way for years.

He tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair impatiently. Over the years, his nature had become more unconventional, impetuous, unpredictable and, on occasion, almost unruly. His patience now wore thin rather quickly. But some days, he was the same as he used to be.

"Syuusuke-kun, I was wondering if you could come fill in for Tarou-kun this weekend. He was meant to be the photog-"

"I can't do it," Syuusuke almost snapped, in one of his bad moods. Oddly enough, his voice sounded like bells, most of his spare time now with his father and he had picked up the accent. "I'm busy this weekend."

The teenager stopped silent. "Oh. Another time then." She rushed away, unnerved by Syuusuke's sharp attitude.

Syuusuke stood abruptly, heading to the nearest building. The garden had been peaceful, yes, but his belongings were inside. University was reasonable, but slightly annoying. Syuusuke already had a job; working as the warden in Confinement when his father wasn't. The degrees from a University were entirely unnecessary. But Tadashi had pressured him to excel in photography, one talent Syuusuke had had for many years. Long before tennis.

"Syu-u-su-ke-kun," a rather happy voice echoed in Syuusuke's ear as he entered the building. A darted, harsh glance in the blue-haired 'prince's direction expressed Syuusuke's annoyance enough. But it didn't seem that he got the hint. "Still bitter from Echizen leaving? I must say, I am surprised. Over the years, you've gotten worse," the blue-haired 'prince' said. "Seigaku's tensai ending up as the impetuous and unconventional, rebellious teenager like quite a lot of foreign teenagers. "

"Is there something you want, Seiichi?" Syuusuke snapped this time. He didn't have time for Seiichi's antics.

Seiichi frowned. "I was just saying 'hello'. You don't have to be such a sourpuss all the time," he frowned. "Basically, you're going to America. You have no choice in this."

Syuusuke, who had just managed to open his locker, slammed the door shut. Who the hell had the right to send him to another country _without _his permission?

"Why the hell am I going to America?" Syuusuke asked rather rudely. His patience was getting worse by the second. He really wised Seiichi had better timing. Like when Syuusuke _wasn't _unbelievably thirsty and stuck at his _human _University campus for the afternoon. Damn his parents for convincing him to go to a human University rather than a vampire one.

"Well," Seiichi said, "Keigo, yourself and I are meeting with most of the Elders – they do have enough power to drag you overseas by force - most, if not all of the immortals and basically a lot of other heads of things. The Yukimura, Atobe and Fuji family all decided to hand over at the same time, you see. The Elder's a very traditional, they like there to be a head of a family. So, we're going to be inaugurated with a whole lot of other people from all over the world."

Syuusuke sighed, opening the locker again. He knew his father believed in 'youth' leading. "Great," he said, rolling his eyes. "When are we going?"

"Tonight, of course," Seiichi said teasingly with a grin.

Syuusuke slung his bag over his shoulder and closed the door. "_Tonight?_" he hissed. "What time and for how long?"

"Um, about a week. Maybe two. It's really until the Elders say we can go," Seiichi admitted. "They have power over my family. Not many people actually like the Elders."

Syuusuke, rather bored already, walked away, fishing a lighter from his bag.

"You really should stop that, Syuusuke," Seiichi chuckled. "But, I suppose that it's better for the rest of us, anyway."

Syuusuke opened the door, intending on leaving the University for the day. He didn't care for anything but getting out of the human filled place that tortured him on most days.

--

Inui looked at his notes inspecting everything he had. There were inconsistencies naturally, but he tried to correct them. Some things weren't possible to gather, like Syuusuke's data had never been completely collected. Syuusuke continuously changed. Ryoma's was never complete as there simply never was enough time.

"Hoi, hoi! Inui, what are you recording now?" Eiji asked curiously.

Inui happily obliged to fill in Eiji's curiosity.

"Over the last six-seven years, I've been collecting data on how often everyone sleeps and how long someone can stay awake without needing sleep," Inui explained. "The data is quite interesting. Most of the data indicates that the older the vampire, the less sleep they need, though there is a single inconsistency."

Eiji tried to understand. "Like what, nya?"

"The person who slept the most in my details was Ryoma, needing sleep at least once a week, give or take two days. On average, he slept every eight point three-five days.

"Next was Momo, most likely because of his lack of time being a vampire, needing sleep every three weeks and two days on average.

"Then you, Eiji, every three weeks and six days on average."

"Really?" Eiji asked, "I never noticed…"

Inui nodded. "Close to that is Tezuka, who sleeps the fourth of each month. It's discipline rather than need.

"I follow that, every thirty five days I sleep.

"Taka and Oishi are very similar, fourty days, the only thing that changes is that Oishi is every fourty point five days.

"Fuji, when he was with us, he slept every sixty days. But his longest period without sleep was just after Natsu, where he was awake for sixty-eight days.

"The longest, by far, and the inconsistency, is Kaidoh. I still have insufficient data on him, but it points to almost two years, one hundred and fifty seven days," Inui concluded. "An was not mentioned in this data because she is human and sleeps an average of five hours per night."

Momo, who had walked into the room once he heard his name, was rather shocked. "Two years?" Momo exclaimed. "No wonder he's always in a bad mood."

The three were awake rather early, well, they hadn't slept actually, waiting for the others to be ready. Everyone was going out together for breakfast if they felt up to it. A few most likely would stay behind only because they weren't hungry.

There was a loud noises come from hall as Kaidoh walked out. "How the hell did you find me here?" he asked in rough English as a tiny, pale, sickly-looking woman walked out beside him.

"Is it wrong that I try and find you? Hozumi told Beth that you were here," she replied, her voice almost inaudible. She was probably around Kaidoh's chest height with golden brown hair and eyes. She was very obviously English and from the sounds of it, she couldn't speak a word of Japanese.

"Kaidoh, who is this?' Momo asked.

Kaidoh looked at Momo. "This is Cecilia. I met her… a while ago. She doesn't speak Japanese."

Cecilia tilted her head to the side. "What? I don't understand you, Kaoru."

Kaidoh turned back to Cecilia. "This is Momo and Eiji," Kaidoh helpfully said rough, school-taught English, "Why aren't you in England right now?"

"The inauguration is on in America this time. A lot of people from Japan decided to give over at the same time you see and we have no choice but to come. Why you are in America is more of an important question. I thought you were in Japan," she said, her voice no more than a squeak.

"We're visiting a friend," Kaidoh explained.

Cecilia was probably not taller than eight or nine year old. But, she had features that said she was definitely older than sixteen, seventeen years old. She had red cheeks and pale skin, most likely an ongoing fever. She had a slight tremor to every movement she made. She was shaking just slightly. Her balance was slightly off but she walked on her toes out of habit. Her heels were just off of the floor, but never touching. Every movement was pointed and extended, but unstable.

Tezuka and Oishi walked out into the hall. "Who is this?"

"This is Cecilia," Kaidoh said once again. "Cecilia, Tezuka and Oishi."

"It's nice to meet you," Tezuka and Oishi said almost in unison.

"The pleasure's all mine," she said in very, very rough Japanese. It didn't even come out right but the others understood what she meant. She turned back to Kaidoh and spoke in English again. "Are you going to come to the Inauguration? You really should."

"Inauguration?" Oishi asked, understanding most of what was said. "Isn't that in another two months?"

Cecilia looked at Oishi. "No, it's in about three days time. They changed it because a lot of the people were going to be here now instead," Cecilia explained. "They had to fly some people over from Japan at really short notice. We had to meet them at the airport. Thankfully, Elaine speaks Japanese."

Momo looked at Eiji. "Did you understand a word of that?"

Eiji looked back. "Someone named Elaine speaks Japanese. That's all I understood."

"Oh."

"Were you supposed to go to the Inauguration, Oishi?" Cecilia asked.

Oishi nodded. "Yeah. With my grandfather in case of an emergency," Oishi explained.

Cecilia smiled. "Oh, your grandfather is Kenji, isn't it? I haven't seen him since he was a boy. He's still alive? Isn't he about one hundred years old?"

Oishi nodded. "Yeah. How did you meet him when he was young? You look about our age," Oishi said.

Cecilia chuckled. "No, no, no. I'm much older. I'm actually about eight hundred years old. I didn't keep track much when I was younger, but it was about then," Cecilia smiled. "K-"

Kaidoh shot a glare then, a hiss escaping from his lips. "How is Beth? Still as controlling as she was when I last saw you all?"

Cecilia chuckled. "If only. She's worse, I think. Elaine doesn't like it. Bartholomew is the same, though."

Cecilia looked out the window at the rising sun. "Well, I should go. I only came because Beth asked me to," Cecilia said. "Oh, you probably won't recognise Elaine. She's taller now. A bit taller than you, actually. But not by much. You'll probably see her walking around and not notice."

Kaidoh looked at Cecilia in interest but dismissed it rather quickly. She had a tiny smile on her face. "Come to the Inauguration. It's very rare to see the Elders outside of a ceremony. Not that anyone likes then. They made it personal with Masao and then Elaine…" her voice got quieter and quieter.

Kaidoh scowled. "What did they do this time?" he hissed.

Cecilia smiled just a little. "It's alright. We've always known they hate immortal children. The feeling's mutual, really."

Kaidoh tensed up just a little. "If they're giving you tro-"

Cecilia grabbed Kaidoh's hand. "It's alright, Kaoru. Don't worry. It's under control."

Kaidoh growled, obviously upset over hearing about the Elders. "Fine," he hissed. He wasn't pleased at all and everyone could tell.

--

Ryoma sighed. Sure, he liked this new feeling he got when he saw the regulars, mainly annoyance but the tiniest amount of nostalgia, but it was tiring and utterly pointless. He wasn't the same person as they used latch onto. He wasn't the same bratty little kid anymore.

He looked at his textbooks, considering doing his homework before midnight. Knowing his luck, the regulars would turn up as he started. But that was just the way things happened to work.

A brilliant idea came to him. Ryoma grabbed a bag and threw in some clothes and packed his bag for school the next day. At least if he looked ready, then his parents would let him leave if they caught him.

He grabbed his keys and put on his glasses. With a few quick strides, he was downstairs and ready to leave. He knew his parents weren't stupid. They'd notice his car was gone and know exactly where he had gone.

Stepping outside, he almost smirked. Somehow, he felt a little like he did when he escaped from his teammates back in Japan. That self-satisfaction that they hadn't noticed he had gone and then they had no idea where he was.

His dark red car roared to life, probably a little older than him. He pulled wiped his glasses just to try and see a little clearer. He didn't actually need them to drive. He could see enough to do that just fine. But, at least everything seemed just a little clearer.

In the moments you were faced with life's decisions, clarity was always welcome.

**--**

**(A.N: Thank you so much for the reviews. Please continue reading and reviewing this story. For all the people who asked where Fuji was, you know now. =D**

**Please review.  
Asami-chan.)**


	3. Inauguration

**Chapter three – Inauguration**

Syuusuke stood in front of the mirror, folding his jacket and putting it in a backpack. He didn't care what the others said, he wasn't going to wear that jacket and another or risk destroying his jacket and his skin on the way there. There was a very faint waft of smoke in the room, mainly from the ashtray sitting near the window.

"You look very nice, Syuusuke. You scrub up well," Seiichi complemented. "I don't take it you'll co-operate and come with us."

Syuusuke smiled. "Saa, you know me too well, Seiichi," he replied, shoving his lighter in his bag.

Seiichi sat down on the made bed. "You're in a much better mood today. Almost like your old self," Seiichi noted. "That reminds me, I haven't spoken to Genichirou or Renji in a while."

Syuusuke was in a considerably better mood. "It helps when I'm not thirsty, Seiichi. I'm sure you'd understand that," Syuusuke said. "I'm sure you get irritable when you're hungry too."

Seiichi chuckled. "Not to your extremes," Seiichi said. "I have yet to figure out exactly what it is, so please indulge me in explaining exactly what your addiction is."

Syuusuke sighed. "To rebellion, I believe it is. Anything that my mother would scold me for. It gets very boring living to be just exactly what everyone expects me to be," he explained.

Seiichi was rather interested. "So why use two methods instead of one?" Seiichi asked.

Syuusuke smiled. "There's always a quick fix to anything, but that doesn't last as long. You see, smoking is a fix that could get me by for quite a while, but it's like a newborn vampire and blood. You keep doing it just to try and feel that feeling you felt when you first did it, but it's never the same. They say murderers feel the same way. So, you refine it, trying to make the experience better, but nothing thrills like it did the first time. So, riding is very unpredictable. There are many different ways to get that thrill with one simple instrument – a motorcycle. It's like vampire blood vs human blood. Vampire blood does satisfy, but not for as long and as well as human blood does."

Seiichi nodded, seeming to understand. "So basically, you are just a rebellious teenager."

Syuusuke chuckled. "Jaa, I suppose you're right."

"Seiichi, the car is here," Atobe said from the doorway. "We need to go."

Seiichi got up and smiled. "Well, you have fun being a 'rebel', Syuusuke. Just get there on time."

Syuusuke smirked. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'll get there."

Seiichi rolled his eyes. "Please, save me the details. I might get carried away imagining you dying on the way," Seiichi said as he closed the door. Syuusuke smirked. Die? Like he'd let that happen.

--

"Come on, hurry up. We don't want to be late," Beth sighed.

"Mikey and I aren't welcome, so why are we even fucking here?" Elaine swore, holding Mikey in her arms. "And what reasoning did you have to invite that asshole here as well?"

Cecilia sighed. "Dear, you shouldn't swear in front of Mikey," Cecilia said quietly to her daughter. Elaine's hair wasn't one defined colour, streaks of red, blue, green, pink, brown and bleach white through black hair. The underneath was all red. Her eyes were dark, not only in colour but glare.

"Yeah, yeah. I just don't see the damn point of coming."

Mikey stretched. He may have looked four or five, but he wasn't _actually _five years old. He was only two years younger than his older sister, Elaine. He just never grew up. He could understand everything they were saying perfectly. He covered his sister's mouth. "Mummy said no swearing, Ella." Mikey need exactly how to get what he wanted and get away with absolutely everything. He was one of the very few, only two or three, people that could call Elaine anything other than Elaine and not get yelled at.

Kaidoh sighed. He felt like he was about to condemn himself to hell. All of the other's followed, including Ryoma who had been pulled out of his house by force. The steps were quite tall as they climbed. There were quite a few people entering the building, expressing just how big the event was.

Eiji watched the people walking and running up the stairs. Some were old and others just children. One looked rather rushed, barely parking his bike before running up the stairs. He would have been steeping at least two to three steps at a time. He fumbled with his helmet before he pulled it off, his light brown hair falling around near his shoulders.

"Shit," Eiji swore uncontrollably. His voice had been low, so not many noticed. He recognised that face from anywhere.

Oishi looked with concern. "What? Eiji, you shouldn't swear. We just told Elaine not to. You're not setting a good example," Oishi scolded lightly.

Eiji tried to look apologetic. "I'm sorry, Oishi. I just thought I saw someone I used to know but they couldn't be here," Eiji said. "It won't happen again, nya."

Cecilia looked at Kaidoh and Taka like they were carrying her in a chair like a goddess. Sure, she looked like she was about to slip and roll down the stairs - she always _always _walked on her toes - but they didn't need to treat her like she would. She had walked up stairs enough times to know how to. "You don't need to watch me step. I know I look like I'm going to fall over, but I'm fine. I've done this plenty of times," Cecilia smiled gently.

They stepped inside the building, the whole place looking like an old mansion. There were a lot of pillars, though on inspection they were all fake. The whole building was lit to seem older than it was.

Just inside, there were a few people standing in rows like security guards. "Ah, it's not very often there's all five immortals here," a random voice said, "Isn't that a bad omen? Well, the immortal children go that way."

Elaine shot a dark glance at the man and walked off, Mikey still in her arms. Beth smiled. "I know. Not since Cristiano was around," she agreed. "That was before Cecilia was born eight centuries ago."

They didn't know whether they should continue inside, or wait. None of the regulars had been to an event like this with nobody who knew what they were doing. Cecilia grabbed Kaidoh's hand as she smiled. "Come on. I know you don't want to wait. Beth'll be out here for a long time," she smiled as she pulled him along. Kaidoh blushed, the sudden contact catching him by surprise.

Inside, there were tables everywhere on the main floor; many set up around the room in patterns but there was a section at the far end of the room that was almost sectioned off. There were hundreds of people in the room. The main area was down a set of stairs.

Cecilia spotted someone and smiled. "Ah, over there!"

Ryoma looked around the room. He first spotted the blunette near the front of the room. "Yukimura's here," he muttered. Tezuka stood beside Ryoma.

"Oh, so is Keigo. Syuusuke too," Taka noticed. "I thought he was in Japan."

Ryoma turned around. He wasn't going to sit here and play 'happy families' or some sort of fixed dating game. Certainly not with a group of people he didn't know – from what he could tell, the only one that knew them was Kaidoh – and his _friends _who hoped he would just turn back to how he used to be like magic.

Ryoma was sorry to break their hearts, but life didn't work that way.

"Where are you going, Echizen?" Tezuka asked. He folded his arms.

Ryoma turned back. "I'm not someone you can drag around," Ryoma said, walking off. He really didn't care anymore. They could play happy families together. He was going to visit his grandmother's grave and get something done. Unlike most believed, he had a life. He was going to live it.

"Oh, Kunimitsu! I didn't know you were here!" Seiichi greeted as he walked over, dragging both Atobe and Syuusuke by the wrists. "Is that Echizen? How are you?"

Ryoma shot a dark glare. He really didn't want to know. Tezuka nodded. "It has been a long time, hasn't it?" he covered up.

Seiichi obviously wasn't too worried about Tezuka. "You've gotten pale and very thin. You should be taking care of yourself. Surely you have somebody looking out for you," Seiichi pointed out. Syuusuke took a few side glances at Ryoma, but tried not to look too interested. Ryoma hadn't gone out of his way to say anything to him for years and didn't seem to be bothered to now.

Ryoma sighed. "You'd be surprised what being alone yet surround does to you," Ryoma spat, walking away.

Tezuka sighed. "I'm sorry. That's more than he's said to us the whole time we've seen him in the last few days," Tezuka apologised.

Seiichi smiled. "Oh, is that so?" he asked, sarcastically as if he hadn't noticed. "Awfully cheery, isn't he?"

"He's certainly lost most of that arrogant ego he had," Keigo pointed out. He didn't seem to get the joke in the loud room. Most of Seiichi's tone had been lost by the time it had gotten to his ears.

"What do you think, Syuusuke?" Seiichi asked.

Syuusuke looked at Ryoma pushing through the crowd. "It doesn't bother me anymore," Syuusuke replied. "Honestly, I shouldn't have been here in the first place."

Seiichi smiled. "Yes, you should. This is an important day for all three of us," Seiichi said. "It was nice seeing you again, Tezuka."

Tezuka nodded. "Yes, it was."

--

Night time was cool, but not too cold. Every so often, just a walk outside was calming. It may not have always worked but even the fresh air helped. His footsteps treaded on the harsh tarmac. There were no cars in sight at the unruly hour despite the open road. Everything was closed, not a single bar or convenience store light on.

Taka stopped at the sound of fighting. He could smell just a slight amount of blood. He walked into the alleyway, but stayed back. If he could stay clear of the fight – like avoiding two drunken men smashing bottles over each others' heads or a vampire feeding on a human – then he wanted to get away as soon as possible.

He saw a male body standing over a woman. She had a scratch across her face as she wiped the blood away. "Fuck you, asshole," she swore colourfully.

She swung her leg around and knocked him over as he swore in return. Taka couldn't tell if she was in trouble, but he couldn't stand back.

He recognised her colourful hair and equally colourful language. "Elaine," he muttered and she turned.

"What the…?" she muttered before she was swatted over onto the ground again. "Kawamura? Get the hell out of here!"

Elaine felt the sharp impact of her shoulder to broken glass on the floor. Blood seeped into her clothes as she gasped in pain. Taka stepped forward to try and help. He couldn't face his friends if he didn't help her. He wasn't much of the violent type, but he was meant to be due to his vampire nature.

Elaine pushed her attacker away and jumped to her feet. She wasn't going to let anything get in the way. She had a job to do and she wasn't going to fail now.

Kawamura grabbed onto the attacker's shirt. If he could do anything, he could hold him back. Then Elaine could stand a better chance.

"Move, asshole. This isn't your fight," the attacker groaned. He knocked Taka back, twisting his wrist to slash at Taka with a knife. Taka let go and held the open wound, blood seeping through his fingers.

"Get out of my way!" Elaine ordered. She pushed Taka back as she tried to defend not only herself, but Taka as well.

Taka didn't notice much other than the fact he was getting dizzier by the second. He could smell a lot of blood. He tried to fight the darkness that was creeping in – it wasn't the fact he had been knocked into a dark corner.

Short images, videos, flashed through his mind. There were some images he could understand – blood and bodies lying on the floor meant that people were going to die – but others he couldn't even understand – a particular image of dark eyes, tears, a dark, looming figure and a room full of red eyes. The final image felt like he was a human walking into a room full of starving vampires.

His eyes snapped open, Elaine completely out of breath. She stood in between himself and the attacker, like she was defending him. Taka pushed himself out of the sheet of broken glass he had somehow been pushed into. His memory was rather hopeless thanks to the loss of blood.

He got in between the attacker and Elaine, trying to defend her. If he could do anything, he could grab the knife. Even if his hands got cut, it was less that being stabbed.

"Get _fucking _back!" Elaine cried as she watched Taka fail to dodge the knife in the attacker's hand. She grabbed the attacker's wrist and tried to pull the knife from the attacker's fingers. Taka had fallen back, a large, deep gash across his chest. That shot was meant for her.

She felt the pressure of the attacker pushing against her grow, her entire body thrown in Taka's direction. She managed to pull the knife from the attacker's hand as she fell back against Taka who caught her.

"Thanks," she muttered grudgingly as she lunged forward.

Taka had hit the shattered glass again with the impact. Blood was everywhere now. He could feel it pouring from his limbs; at least one of his arteries had been hit by shattered glass.

The attacker fell to his knees, Elaine standing over him as she wiped the sweat from her brow. She pulled out something from her pocket and poured it over his body. There were screams of pain and smoke rising. His entire body was burning, all evidence he had ever been there destroyed bar the fallen blood.

Elaine turned to Taka, her arms lying limply by her sides. She was crying, as if in pain that she had killed someone. She looked at Taka, the blood had become too much.

She pulled the glass shards out of his body as she laid him on the ground. Blood was streaming from his wounds. Only the whites of Taka's eyes could be seen, but she knew what that was like. The feeling of blood in her hands made her cringe. How she could just drink that blood to her heart's content and destroy the body like she had the other. But, he had tried to befriend her and he had befriended her family. He didn't deserve to die.

The scent became too much. She got up, her tired limbs dangling as her feet barely moved. She tried to walk, controlling herself at least enough to get away without her senses devouring her.

"Oi! Taka-san! Taka-san!" shouts came. She recognised the voices. "Oh, Elaine-san!"

Elaine turned, wiping her face. She couldn't let the others see her tears. "What is it?"

Oishi was smiling until his nose caught up with the blood. "Why are you covered in blood?"

"I'm forced to do the Elder's dirty work. Kill those that Confinement can't catch. Your friend - Taka, was it? – got in the way. Because of him, fighting became a lot harder. He ended up taking a blow for me and now your friend is dead, quite frankly," Elaine said in very formal Japanese. She spoke like she was from before the first century.

"Dead?" Oishi asked as the others caught up. They had all heard most of what she had said.

Tezuka looked at Oishi. "Oishi, help Elaine-san. She seems to have gotten hurt as well. Eiji, you go with them. Kaidoh, Momo, come with me," Tezuka ordered as he walked in the direction of blood. Inui had been searching near Ryoma's house. Kaidoh curled his hand into a fist, a look of pain upon his face.

The scent was getting strong. Blood ran down into the gutter like water. Momo held his nose, trying not to think about the blood he was walking through. _It's only water. It's only water,_ he repeated to himself over and over again.

Tezuka, however, seemed quite composed, but his face was screwed up a little. He was in pain because of the smell too, but trying not to show it.

Momo looked back as he heard a splash, like someone running through a puddle. No one was there. It was only he and Tezuka. Then it clicked. "Mamushi!"

Tezuka looked at Taka's body. There was no hope in saving his life. At least he died a hero, according to Elaine's words, but also a fool. He wasn't a fighter. He wouldn't have been able to do anything and yet he stayed to defend someone he didn't know didn't need defending. The irony.

Momo dropped down to the floor, squatting as to avoid the blood. "He really is dead, isn't he?" he said. His voice sounded funny as he held his nose tighter. The scent was stronger there.

Tezuka nodded. "Yes." Tezuka couldn't do anything. The smell of blood had paralysed him to the spot. If he moved any closer to Taka, the temptation would be too great. He knew Momo was experiencing the same thing. They both couldn't bear to make Taka's murder worse. "We need to go. We'll get his body later when we have control. Either that or we'll find somebody who can."

Footsteps came up behind them. "What happened, Tezuka?"

"Fuji!" Tezuka said as he turned. He noticed the cigarette in Syuusuke's fingers.

Syuusuke stepped closer. "I smelled blood, so I came to investigate, naturally. Bodies shouldn't be left lying around."

Tezuka nodded. "He was defending a… friend of ours. She's not really a friend as she doesn't seem to like any of us, but she's daughter of a close friend of Kaidoh's. He didn't end up helping and got himself killed."

Syuusuke nodded. There seemed to be not even a single gasp at Taka's death. It was like Syuusuke didn't care anymore. "And now you can't even touch him?" he asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Yes."

Syuusuke stepped closer to Taka. Syuusuke was stronger than before, but still quite feminine. He was built up almost like Bartholomew, thin but pure muscle, not an ounce of fat. He put the cigarette in his mouth and picked Taka up like he was a bag of flour. "Where do you want me to take him?"

--

Cecilia was almost ready to stand up and pace. Her daughter had returned home, more battered than usual, with Oishi and Eiji. She was thankful that Elaine was alive, but the way she spoke of Taka's death was as if it was _Taka's fault _he died. Taka didn't know she was an assassin, even if it wasn't by choice. There was no way to predict this would happen.

"Would you leave me the _fuck alone?" _Elaine shouted at Oishi who had been trying to tend to Elaine's wounds. After Elaine had removed her jacket, the wounds became clearer.

"Elaine, dear, let him help you. He's a doctor. He'll make it better in no time," Beth said with as smile as if Elaine had a choice. Elaine knew she didn't have a choice as soon as Beth said it.

Elaine sighed. "Fine," she growled. She let Oishi look at the cut through her shirt, though it was fairly unclear. The material of the shirt had gotten in the way and bits were now inside the cuts.

For safety reasons, both Bartholomew and Mikey had been sent out of the room. Bartholomew didn't handle well with the smell of blood and Mikey would have started to jump around and make trouble. He seemed to have boundless energy sometimes. Cecilia was glad Mikey wasn't in the room. Elaine was swearing like a sailor.

"Ah, it's hard to see," Oishi noted as he pulled some sterilised cloth out of his bag. Being Oishi, he carried around a small yet elaborate first-aid kit everywhere.

Elaine sighed, rolling her eyes. "Give me twenty damn seconds," she said as she walked off into the room. Being a family of five and there at the Elders' expense, they had rented a small house for the time they were there. The only problem was they had to try and keep it clean. Not that it mattered. The only people allowed to rent the house were vampires.

She came back, changed into very short shorts and a sports crop. She had wiped off most of the blood. Eiji blushed. He hadn't really seen a woman with little clothes on before other than his sisters. Even then, they usually at least had a t-shirt on. Oishi, however, was used to it because of working in a hospital.

Elaine sat in front of Oishi and sighed as she looked at Eiji. "Oh, grow the hell up. Please. I'm still wearing clothes." She had given up Japanese at the words they understood English enough they could understand most of what the Immortals had been saying.

Oishi cleaned out the wounds and covered them, bandaging her arm tightly where it had been fractured from impact with a wall during Taka's 'visions'. She could tell from the focus of Taka's eyes at the time.

Cecilia frowned. "He's not back yet, is he?" she asked.

"No, he's not," Beth replied as she looked almost uncaringly at her magazine. She scoffed at the pictures of perfect men and women. She could see every flaw and everywhere it had been edited. She knew human structure. She had been around much too many people to be convinced that the human body was perfect.

Cecilia tapped her toes on the floor. "He wasn't hurt too, was he?"

Elaine rolled her eyes. "He fucking ran off, the bastard. Couldn't even look at his damn friend. What a shitty asshole of a friend to have. It's like the bastard has no control anymore. Honestly, if I could get my hands around that-"

"Elaine, that's enough," Beth corrected sternly. She didn't seem to stop smiling. She smiled more than Syuusuke once had. It was like she was enjoying the thought of everyone suffering. Either that or she physically couldn't stop smiling no matter the reason. Elaine thought that Beth even smiled while she cried.

"Control? Kaidoh?" Oishi asked. "He's the most controlled out of all of us. We don't know why. I have never noticed him drink any blood in the last six years or so."

Eiji nodded. "I don't think I have either, nya. Inui said that Kaidoh doesn't sleep for about two years and a half at a time," Eiji pointed out.

"Two years?" Beth asked. "You guys must really tire him out. That's less than usual. Not by much though, I guess."

"I need to go find him," Cecilia said, standing up. "I'll be back soon, okay? I know where he'll probably be."

Beth nodded, not seeming to care too much. "Be back before dawn. After that, he can take care of himself for a while."

Cecilia nodded as she left. Even her footsteps were as quiet as a mouse. "I will, don't worry."

--

Ryoma sat in his late grandmother's house. Ryoga had agreed that the house was no used to him, so Ryoma was allowed to do with it whatever he pleased. There was no mortgage or anything to pay. Ryoma didn't care about electricity. Water was important, so he did pay for the minimalistic amount he used originally. Eventually, he got the idea to install a water tank and a system to put it through to the house when he needed it. If he ever needed more water, he could go down to the creek and get some more.

Thomerson's creek had been Ryoma's salvation. He always went there when he was tired of everything. It wasn't so far away he couldn't get to school. It just meant he had to leave at least an hour earlier. Well, he left an hour earlier and drove as if no one else was on the road. His senses, other than his eyes, were still quite good so he could always tell when to slow down at critical moments.

As Ryoma had discovered just after his grandmother's death, Thomerson's creek was a vampire town. There was not a single human in the whole small town. The population barely hit one hundred, but everybody knew each other. His grandmother had always been the only human, but knowing the vampires' secret had seemed to gain her an exemption. His grandmother acted like she was a vampire too, though she was most definitely human. Other vampires treated her like they did vampires, joking around about human blood and things they wouldn't dare in a human's presence normally.

Ryoma loved it there. His parents refused to come. Every time they came down, they always thought they were looked at like they were food. They didn't realise how right they were. They couldn't understand the security Ryoma felt being surrounded by his own kind. His parents didn't know he was a vampire and he had planned for it to stay that way.

The small house only had two bedrooms. One for his grandmother, still made up and looking like his grandmother had been in there and tidied it just that morning, and the other that Ryoga's mother used to sleep in. His grandmother wasn't _his _grandmother biologically. Rinko's mother had never liked Nanjirou, taking him as childish and irresponsible along with many other petty reasons, so they never wanted to meet or speak to Ryoma. Nanjirou had lost contact with his own parents when he left Japan.

Ryoga's mother didn't want to be a mother, so Ryoga's grandmother took care of him until Nanjirou and Rinko decided to take him in. Nanjirou was his father, Ryoga and Ryoma half brothers. Ryoma always visited when Ryoga visited his grandmother and soon Ryoma thought of her as his grandmother too. Thankfully, Ryoga's grandmother felt like Ryoma's grandmother as well and had spoiled them both rotten like any traditional, loving grandmother. She'd sneak them sweets when their parents said otherwise and always play games with them. Ryoga disappeared but that didn't change how Ryoma and his grandmother felt about each other. Ryoma still came to visit every week and always felt at home.

When his grandmother died, he felt like the world had ended. Some dark haired, dark eyed man came in and bound him down as if to show him what would happen to him if he protested too much. All Ryoma could remember were the images of his grandmother getting hurt and the words 'you know the cure. You can make this stop if you tell us how you're human and we're not.' It was like he was saying Ryoma's grandmother was meant to be a vampire herself. But, she wasn't. She was human.

Ryoma sighed, sitting down with his glasses pushed up on his face and a book in his hands. No one believed him when he said he liked to read books. It became more of a hobby as he stopped playing tennis. It wasn't interesting anymore. He could get stronger but no one would be a challenge. He had beaten his father, his ultimate goal, several times. But every time he did, he felt like more and more of his world fell apart. Like he didn't know what to do with himself anymore. This was it, wasn't it? Everything Ryoma had dreamed of.

So Ryoma closed himself off from the world. He couldn't see any point in trying to be someone he wasn't. They all looked up to him like he was god in human form, the ultimate tennis player. But Ryoma wanted to be Ryoma. Sure, tennis was his dream, but he was more than just tennis.

Echizen Ryoma was the arrogant, self-involved vampire, completely surrounded by others trying to understand him, but completely alone in those who did.

**--**

**(A.N: Let me warn you now. Thanks to a lot of prodding from my friend 'Frog-kun', this entire fic has become a giant tragedy. But, it'll be a good tragedy. I love writing tragedies, actually.**

**Enough about tragedies. A lot of people asked where Ryoma went at the end of the last chapter. If you didn't pick it up from the end of this chapter, then he went to Thomerson's Creek.**

**Please review!!**

**Asami-chan)**


	4. Blood Lust

**(A/N: Don't run away! I know this chapter may drag on, but my brain died. I got writer's block, killed it, got it back, killed it again, and eventually this came about. All of a sudden, my OC's became sue-ish, BUT THEY'RE NOT SUES. Please give them a chance. –pleading eyes-**

**I hope you like it. Read, review and enjoy!)**

**Chapter four – Blood Lust**

The morning was cold. It wasn't dawn yet, but the real cold had kicked in. Not to mention, Kaidoh had left his jacket with the others. He considered going back to get it, but he'd have to pass all of that blood. That was something he couldn't risk. But it was going to be dawn soon. Nobody really realised that vampires could be and used to be very habitual creatures. Kaidoh was more than a creature of habit – he was habit.

He did everything out of habit. Training was intense, but he couldn't do it any other way. He had been brought up on being as human as possible during the day, a vampire during the night. He didn't feel thirsty during the day; he had _always _'hunted' at night. He could resist being soaked in blood some days, but at night, he would be on a rampage.

The tallest tree in the area wasn't tall enough. He'd sit at the top of a tree or a mountain, which ever was taller, to avoid the look of human life. But he could still see buildings. Buildings meant people. People meant blood.

Kaidoh shook his head. No, he wouldn't think about human beings. He would resist the temptation, at least until dawn. After dawn, he would be clear to walk around again, at least until dusk. Blood was the last thing he wanted.

"Ah, found you!" Cecilia smiled. She hung from the branch, holding on for what looked like dear life. "You really shouldn't disappear like that, Kaoru."

Kaidoh nodded. At this point, even vampires smelt delicious. "I had no other choice," Kaidoh hissed. He brought his knees to his chest and sat as stably as he could on the small branch.

Cecilia pulled herself up onto the branch slowly and tried to stay as balanced as Kaidoh. "Kaoru, come with me. No one knew where you were," Cecilia smiled. She gently grabbed onto his arm to keep herself stable. Her balance really was pathetic.

Kaidoh shook his head. "Just… just wait until dawn. I can't go yet."

"I'm only trying to help you," Cecilia said quietly. "I've always… all I wanted to do is help you." She looked rather hurt. Kaidoh turned to her. He looked apologetic, but he really didn't care too much for help.

"I don't _need _help. I'm fine on my own," Kaidoh growled. He _hated _depending on others. He wasn't weak. He could feel anger building up inside of him. He hissed in frustration.

Cecilia lowered herself down from the branch as far as she could, but slipped. She hit the ground with a thud. "Ow," she cringed. "I'll just see you later, Kaoru…" She sounded upset but walked off like Kaidoh was fine. She was very hurt and was fighting back tears. Tears were foolish. She should have known Kaidoh wouldn't want any help.

Kaidoh wanted to apologise, but he'd screw it up. He was annoyed at himself, not Cecilia. He growled again as he closed his eyes. He'd have to explain to Beth later, but he was sure a few actions could be self-explanatory. He could only feel his lust for blood was rising and control slipping. He didn't have any choice. Time was of the essence, and time was something he didn't have.

--

The room wasn't as quiet as expected; the absence of Kaidoh, Ryoma and the late Taka seemed to have little effect since they were the quietest of the lot anyway. No one knew where Kaidoh had gone and seemed to care very little. The _immortals _were watching out for him anyway.

The fact they were immortals was a bit unbelievable, but it was possible. To speak of things you could only link to those times was evidence, but to fit in so well with those born of the Common Era, that which many people over thirty would find hard to do with their teenage children.

There were smiles around with some loud jokes. Momo had slung his arm around An, almost drunkenly, Oishi was speaking to Tezuka and Inui, and Eiji was laughing at Momo's lame pun he had come up with on the spur of the moment.

It was rather sudden that in complete, uncontrollable unison, Momo and Eiji burst into tears. It couldn't have been planned to work that well. Both Oishi and An were the most surprised, being suddenly drowned in the tears of the two loudest members of the team.

They knew why; Taka was dead. The realisation had hit and together, they knew he wasn't coming back.

"Hey, Eiji, it's okay," Oishi comforted. "Calm down."

An didn't know what to do. The way Momo had spontaneously broken into tears about something other than a sappy movie like 'Lassie' was very rare in occurrence. It happened about as often as Momo spoke to Ryoma after he left Japan.

Like a ton of bricks had fallen on them, the whole team burst into tears. It was a strange feeling as tears flowed down their faces like they hadn't cried in years. Their loss of a friend was stronger than previous thought. It hurt them all, to be honest.

But with that, they still had to contact his father. He had to know his son was dead.

--

"Kaoru! What are you-?" Beth exclaimed rather loudly. She really did not have to ask. She could smell blood and she knew what Kaidoh was like. It was like not eating food for a long time. When you re-introduce your stomach to food, it rejects it because it's so foreign even though it's needed. Right now, no matter how desperate Kaidoh was for blood, his body was going to reject it.

Beth pulled Kaidoh to his feet and dragged him inside. The door closed rather loudly as she pulled him into the middle of the room. Kaidoh rolled onto his side and groaned. He hated the feel of desperation, the need for blood that couldn't be satisfied.

"Beth?" Bartholomew asked. "What's going on?" Even though his questions expressed concern, his voice was emotionless. The whole sentence was as if he were bored. "What smells like blood?" he asked, his voice rising with suspicion.

"Oh, get over it!" Beth barked. "Kaoru is sick."

Bartholomew huffed. "You should have left him outside. It's his fault," he hissed, grabbing onto his hair. He could smell the blood so clearly. "I'm leaving. To hell with this waiting."

Beth was annoyed now. "Bartholomew Wilkinson, you will not kill anyone! Do you want to stay here?"

"Quite honestly, Beth, no," Bartholomew replied. "I'm starving."

Beth wasn't the kind of person who would let anyone get away with disregarding her 'authority'. If anyone tried to tell her anything otherwise, they were in for it. "Bartholomew, you will get back here and wait. We'll be leaving here soon. You can eat then," she ordered him as she grabbed his wrist with a very firm grip. She refused to let him go.

"Like I'm waiting. All I do is wait for you," Bartholomew snapped harshly. "I should of left you in Greece."

Beth stopped. "You don't mean that," she said and tried to laugh a little. "You love me, I love you. Bartholomew, dear, tell me you're joking."

Bartholomew pulled his arm away. "I'll consider taking it back when I'm not being starved by my wife."

With that, Bartholomew left. Beth looked at the floor where Kaidoh formerly laid. "Domestics? I haven't seen you and Bartholomew fight in… I haven't seen you fight. Ever." Kaidoh noticed, now propped up against the wall. He was pale and his eyes redder than rubies. His normal attitude became more casual, relaxed and painfully blunt. He still wasn't good at expressing emotions, particularly sympathy thanks to his bluntness. Blood was still covering the other scents in the room.

Beth collapsed back onto a chair. "I can't believe he said that," she almost whispered.

"Beth? Kaoru?" Cecilia asked, nursing the sleeping Mikey in her arms. She was still on her toes. "I heard yelling."

"And you're only coming out now?" Kaidoh asked rather harshly. Cecilia noticed Kaidoh's eyes, hence his behaviour was explained. Kaidoh did not look well. "Ah well, Beth and Bartholomew just had their first domestic."

Cecilia looked at Beth. "He means argument, right? Slang confuses me. Are you alright, Beth?" she asked quietly. "It was blood, right?"

Beth nodded. "Yeah. He told me he should have left me in Greece. That's thousands of years ago. He'd take it all back?" her voice was reduced to a whisper.

--

Somehow, the regulars had managed to drag Ryoma home from Thomerson's creek – directions gladly provided by Nanjirou – and back to find Kaidoh. He had just disappeared and no one knew where he went. The smartest guess was that Kaidoh was with the immortals. He obviously knew them well. He spoke as if he was very familiar to him. None of the regulars could easily call him Kaoru and yet they called him Kaoru like they had known him for a very long time.

"Oh my fucking god, it's the fucking gay parade," Elaine swore as she sat outside on the front step. "I wouldn't go the hell in there. I'm fucking out here for a damn reason." She took a bite from what looked like a sugary lolly and ate rather loudly. "Oh, it stinks of fucking blood too." If there was any way to explain it, Elaine did use a very small vocabulary.

The door opened slowly. "Ellie," Mikey said. He was very unpleased by the sounds from inside. No one seemed to be very happy. "Mummy is mad and Beth and Bartholomew aren't talking to each other."

"And the bastard?"

Mikey shrunk back at the sound of his sister's annoyed and rude voice. "He's the one who made Mummy mad," Mikey said. "He's been trying to say sorry but Mummy hasn't come out of her room in a long time."

Elaine stood up, stuffed the rest of the sugar coated lolly in her mouth and held the door open for Tezuka and the others who promptly followed. Inside, Beth sat on a chair alone. Bartholomew was elsewhere and Cecilia was in her room avoiding Kaidoh. The drama that occurred in that house was absolutely ridiculous. But the sudden meeting with Kaidoh had set it all on a new level. Elaine was glad she _wasn't _involved for once.

"Beth, what the hell happened?" Elaine asked abruptly. She really had no tolerance for her family's domestic feuds.

Beth smiled. "Everyone, please sit down. Don't crowd around the door," She said. "Bartholomew is out… hunting even though I forbade him from going. It seems Cecilia is very unpleased at Kaoru."

Elaine looked at Mikey. Behind her grumpy exterior, there was a glimmer of a smile. "So the brat told me," she said. It seemed Elaine actually liked someone: her little brother. Mikey grinned triumphantly. Mikey was only a few years younger than Elaine, despite their appearance.

"I told you, Ellie! Mikey no lie!" he said to emphasise his apparent age. "I'm not allowed to lie. Mummy says it's bad."

"Nya~, what did Kaidoh do to upset Cecilia?" Eiji asked curiously. Of course he was curious. But curiosity killed the cat. "How do you all know each other?"

Elaine and Beth's jaws dropped. They both looked shocked. "He never mentioned us, ever?"

Eiji felt like he had said something extremely bad. Something he wasn't supposed to say. "No…" he whispered.

Mikey held onto Elaine's leg. He looked like he was going to cry. Beth looked extremely angry. "What kind of friend is he?" she snapped loudly. Everyone in the room stepped back from the raging woman.

Inui looked at his notebook in case something did once come up. He suddenly realised the absence in details on Kaidoh's personal life compared to the others. Sure, he knew his _family _but everything else was very unclear. "It seems we don't know much about Kaidoh outside of tennis."

Beth sighed. "He'll be angry at me, but you deserve to know," she said as she composed herself. "Kaoru is my adopted son, an immortal like us." She seemed calm for a moment, but she wasn't. "He should have told you!"

The regulars went silent. "He's… an immortal?"

Beth folded her arms. "You don't know exactly what an immortal _is, _do you?"

"Well, not exactly, no," Oishi confirmed.

Beth rolled her eyes. "Where's Ezekiel when you need him? He's the teacher!" she sighed, annoyed.

"Don't fucking say that too loud. He's staying not too far from here," Elaine begged, holding one hand to her ear. Beth was shouting too loud. "Immortal is a shitty term expressing someone or something immunity from age, disease and trauma."

Beth smiled. "So you can say a sentence that doesn't offend somebody. We need to work on the swearing though, Elaine, dear," she said. She looked… proud. "Immortal vampires are only immune to all of those, but only to a certain point. We can age but we can remain a certain age for a long time. We cannot age backwards. The ageing process stops at about thirty. We are not immune to disease, but we get better quickly, no matter the disease. Things like cancer cannot even kill us. As for trauma, we do last longer with trauma. We can live until… I think it was a week without any blood to Christiano's heart when he died. He got involved in a war. As you would know, vampires _all _used to be immortals, but over time that's changed. There are only five of us now and two, possibly three, immortal children that we know of."

Cecilia stood at the end of the hall and looked in at the others. Beth smiled as she looked at the pale woman. "How is he?" Beth asked.

Cecilia grabbed onto the corner of the wall gently. "I was hoping he was out here. He disappeared about five minutes ago."

Elaine smiled. "Smart one, dumb ass. He fucking heard you," Elaine swore at Beth. "I knew this was going to happen."

Beth scowled. "Shut up, Elaine."

---

**(A.N: I didn't like this chapter. It was one of those things that you write because it's got to happen. Please stick with me. The next chapter is much better. Thanks!! Review and tell me your thoughts, please! )**


	5. The Other Side

**(A/N: I don't know about you, but I miss Syuusuke in this story. He hasn't appeared since chapter three. So, here he is! Some people asked, the OCs are only there to help the plot along. Basically, screw everything up so it can get better. Don't worry; the PoT characters are MUCH more important.)**

**Chapter Five – The Other Side**

Syuusuke sighed. Some 'asshole' in an SUV had knocked him off his motorcycle. Thankfully, they weren't going very fast. His hired motorcycle now had some scratches down the side – the SUV driver said they'd pay for the paint – and he had gotten a few scrapes. His leather jacket wasn't on because it was annoying him: the zipper broke.

"Ow, Seiichi, that hurts!" Syuusuke said angrily as Seiichi touched the antiseptic on Syuusuke's grazes.

Seiichi chuckled. "Well, of course it's going to hurt. It's cleaning out your wounds. I'm sure you'd rather there wasn't dirt in there, wouldn't you?"

Syuusuke turned his head toward his bag. "Can I at least have my cigarettes back please? You don't realise how much I want one right now, Seiichi."

"'Want' is not 'need', Syuusuke. If it's a 'want', it can wait," Seiichi said as he closed the bottle and began wrap Syuusuke's arm in a light bandage. "This reminds me of Marui. His acrobatics always got him scrapes and bruises. Of course the _vampire _was left to patch up the bleeding wounds." At this, Seiichi chuckled.

Atobe, who had been sitting near the window, smiled. "Well, I certainly miss Hyotei. I still talk with them now and again. It's awkward to meet up now a few of us have moved away for university." He had a look of nostalgia in his eyes.

Seiichi had a rather warm smile on his face. "I do speak to Akaya often. The others I see around and we play a game every so often." He looked at Syuusuke. "Don't you miss Seigaku, Syuusuke?"

Syuusuke watched the bandage go around his arm at a painfully slow rate. "At times. Others, I wish they'd go away." He remembered how the old team bothered him about his absence of heart in his tennis so much he quit the team. Then they begged for him to come back. He came back and was told he wasn't playing to his full potential. After that, there was no going back. He quit after the second day and took a stronger interest in photography. At least he could say he needed to travel by train to get pictures for the first few days.

"They didn't want you to leave," Atobe said in an odd moment of kindness. Usually some sort of self-heightening prospect was in Atobe's words when he was kind. But, these words didn't have any benefit to Atobe at all. It was very rare that Atobe did not remind Syuusuke of his misfortunes.

Syuusuke began tapping his hand on his seat. "I know. They bothered me until senior year when I told them tennis wasn't fun anymore."

The former captains both looked hurt. "Tennis? Not fun?" Seiichi asked as he finally finished the bandage.

"With them, it was a chore. One day, it just wasn't tennis anymore. Not like it was with Ry-"

They'd done it. He'd almost said Ryoma. He wouldn't fall to their constant mental torture again. He already got plenty of that. "It wasn't like middle school tennis."

Seiichi smiled. "Is that so?" he had definitely heard the start of Ryoma's name. "I wonder how Echizen's game is now."

Atobe folded his arms. "Ah, probably bad. He didn't look good at the inauguration the other night. The fact they were with people from elsewhere than Japan confused me," Atobe said. "One looked both eight and eighteen at the same time. If not older. She seemed very close to Kaidoh, holding his hand like she did."

Seiichi laughed. "Those were the immortals; do you not remember them, Keigo? They were at my house when we went 'hunting' in our third year of middle school." Atobe shook his head. "Supposedly all five of the immortals were at the inauguration. That's the worst kind of luck to happen."

Syuusuke remembered Taka, his friend. Well, used to be his friend. "Taka died that night."

"Kawamura Takashi?" Seiichi asked. "What happened?"

Syuusuke couldn't understand it. He felt remorse even though death surrounded him everyday. "Murdered. He saved Elaine, the daughter of the woman Kaidoh spoke of." His voice cracked. He didn't understand the feeling – guilt, perhaps? – that consumed him. He had been so heartless. He just took his friend's body and dumped it in the morgue at the American confinement, waiting to be shipped to Japan.

Seiichi put a hand on Syuusuke's shoulder. "Don't cry now. We feel for your loss," Seiichi said. It was almost comforting to Syuusuke. Almost. "He was a great tennis player, wonderful cook and an honest vampire. The person who killed him obviously was heartless, whoever that is."

Syuusuke pulled himself together. He didn't cry, not over deaths. He was constantly surrounded by death in confinement; he often caused it. It was just another person… crossing over.

Atobe broke the silence with his loud ringtone. "Hello, this is Atobe Keigo speaking." Atobe looked very puzzled. "Ah, okay then. We'll meet you there."

Seiichi looked twice as puzzled as Atobe. "Keigo, who was that?"

Atobe shrugged. "I have no idea. Something about an Elder and a creature called a Lachlan. There was also something about a giraffe eating confinement and a bird asking for us to come there. This person's Japanese made no sense. Even ore-sama could not depict what he was saying, so it was bad."

Syuusuke sighed. "Can I have my cigarettes now? I promise I'll wear my leathers when I ride my bike."

Seiichi smiled. "Here." He threw them in Syuusuke's direction. "No smoking in the taxi."

"Taxi? Since when was I going in a taxi?" Syuusuke asked. "I have a motorbike."

"But you're coming with us. We don't need you crashing on the way to the medical centre," Seiichi replied. "You can survive ten minutes in a car, can't you?"

--

"I hate taxis. The driver doesn't even sit with the passengers anymore. He sits in a plastic box. Where's the service?" Syuusuke complained. He was desperate for a cigarette. His entire attitude had changed.

The Vampire Confinement/Medical Centre – also known as VCMC or simply 'Confinement' - was identical as the one in Japan, but that was no surprise. Every single VCMC around the world was identical. It meant that any vampire could always find help, where ever he may have been.

"Ah! Yukimura-san, Atobe-san, Fuji-san! Good afternoon," a voice greeted. He sounded Japanese but his words had mistakes all through them. "I am the creature called Lachlan." – His Japanese was just that terrible. "My cat is so happy you licked the restaurant."

The three boys looked at each other. "What?"

"Do you catch English like tofu-stabbing master?"

Again, the boys looked at each other. This man could speak Japanese, just not Japanese that made sense. Seiichi smiled at the blonde haired, obviously bleached, foreigner. Maybe he was Asian, but he was not native Japanese.

"Does that mean 'do we speak English?' If so, we do a little bit," he said in English. His accent affected a few sounds uncommon to Japanese people, but was quite good.

Lachlan – guessing that was his name – smiled. "Ah, thank goodness. I have no idea what I was saying."

Seiichi smiled as he looked at Atobe and Syuusuke. "To be honest, we didn't understand either."

Lachlan's smile faded. "Well, I called you here because you might have noticed that the VCMC isn't as well organised in America as Japan. America is a larger area and there are less staff under the Confinement's control. The medical centre has plenty of good doctors, but they don't have time for paperwork because they end up doing errands usually the warden would do."

Syuusuke rolled his eyes. "So, I'm playing warden?" he asked.

Lachlan smiled. "Exactly. You'll be helping Collin run confinement. Teach him some confidence while you're at it. He's a real pushover." Lachlan laughed as he pulled one of the bags from over his shoulder. "Since we've been receiving the English speaking vampires from other countries that are modifying their system to be up to date with the newest changes, there's a lot of vampires and there's quite a few racial issues going on so it's very dangerous in there. There's no system thanks to the spineless Collin."

"He has no spine?" Seiichi and Atobe asked in almost perfect unison. Syuusuke also looked confused by that comment. Someone without a spine should not work in Confinement. That was a death wish.

"No, that means he has no courage," Lachlan kindly corrected. He forgot that they weren't entirely fluent to all of the English sayings. "So there's the gun you'd be used to in there, it's marked with red tape. I hope you don't have to use it. There's another with a much lower power but more concentrated level of ammunition in it, marked with green. You don't need that one in Japan. For that one, use it as you wish. Think traffic lights – red stop, green go. There are other bits and pieces you'd be used to from confinement in there. Collin is against violence and such so he won't use them. Please do so they can listen to someone for once."

Syuusuke nodded. "I got it."

Lachlan smiled. "Good. Any questions?"

"Just one," Syuusuke remembered. "Can I smoke in there?"

"Go for it," Lachlan winked. "Do as you wish. Collin will be waiting in there."

With that, Syuusuke left. Only Atobe and Seiichi remained. "So what are we doing?" Seiichi asked.

"That's simple," Lachlan said with a devious smile. "You're running errands. Here are your things, your list of tasks and where you can get everything you need. Here's a cell phone so you can let all the money you use come onto us –business only, thanks – and first off, you're going to… let's see…" Lachlan looked at the notebook as he gave Atobe the bag. "To go investigate a group of humans who think they're vampires and stop them. Tell them they're not real vampires, prove it however you wish if they deny it, shut it down and silence anyone who will spill that real vampires exist: The usual. Have fun! I've got to find some others to help."

With that, Lachlan left. Atobe looked at the list. "Oh, great. Did we get a map?" Seiichi riffled through the bag and pulled out a map. Atobe looked at it and marked a building with a pen. "First, we go to this dot. Ore-sama is good at this, don't you think?" Seiichi rolled his eyes.

--

Lachlan was right. Collin was a coward. They'd barely stepped in the main area and Collin was a real push over. After seeing this, Syuusuke told Collin to shut up while he showed him 'how it's done'. The first person who yelled at Syuusuke got a verbal beating like never before. Collin, being a coward, said that knowing Syuusuke could handle the situation inside the Confinement area would do some paperwork in the office to save them time later. Syuusuke agreed; it got Collin out of his hair.

He lit a cigarette and smiled. Today was going to be a good day. Getting all of his frustration out on total strangers that could do nothing about it; he could take it out in Japanese and they wouldn't even _understand_ him.

It was no lie that there were a lot more people than in the one in Japan. A lot more vampires lived in Western countries; it was where they originated from. A lot were much bigger than Syuusuke too. Confinement was less reasonable in America than Japan. It was the reverse of the usual thoughts on federal prisons in both countries. Syuusuke held the timetable in his hands, regarding the times the spent inside cells, eating, other times outside of cells and the non-existent meeting that was supposed to take place every morning to give them a little insight into the outside world.

"This has got to change," Syuusuke muttered as he leaned on a wall. He had found himself in the cafeteria area. At least they had a variety of food, not that many could actually eat it at this point in time. According to the timetable, lunch was in about fifteen minutes. He could deal with that. He just needed to change everything around a little first and spineless Collin, who did have an actual spine, would be twice as much of a push over to him than the prisoners; Syuusuke had a gun. Two, actually.

--

After a very short discussion with Collin, most of the speaking was done by Syuusuke and Collin instantly agreed the timetable was to be changed to be almost identical to that in Japan. The only difference was the allowance of time for everything like getting food – there were a lot more people, remember? – and the meeting was added in to be at ten am on the dot. As it was in Japan, the meeting was optional, but it was that or stay in your cell. Most opted to come and listen to what the warden had to say.

Syuusuke sat up in the warden's chair in the cafeteria area. They'd all come in soon and he was going to give every single one of them a piece of his mind. He had been there an hour maybe and all he had heard was rudeness towards himself and disrespectful behaviour. At least those in Japan acknowledged that it wasn't the warden's fault they were in there. Perhaps the warden didn't want to be there either, but he was.

As predicted, the bell sounded and cells were opened. People began gushing in like water, spreading out across the tables like high schoolers and their cliques. The sight was ridiculous. They did realise that they were all going to die some day. These were the people they were going to see before they die.

"Alright, alright. Quiet down," Syuusuke said as he tapped his hands on the arm rests of his chair. He was the 'king' here. The ruckus continued. "Saa…" he chuckled, "it'll be done the hard way, huh? It's what you get for never having a leader." He stood up and folded his arms. He had been waiting to get his frustration out all day. He couldn't stand being around Seiichi and Atobe all day and night. They both got on his nerves.

"Alright. Everybody, I want silence," he said rather loudly. Again, everyone kept talking. Syuusuke sighed. He hoped it wouldn't have to happen like this. He opened his bag and retrieved his favourite little box. It was going to be a long day. He lit it and took a deep breath before he put it by his side. "EVERYBODY QUIET!"

Finally, everybody went silent. It seemed the combination of smoke and a loud voice had startled them. No one ever confronted them before. It was obviously strange to them. Whoever put _Collin _as warden must have been addicted to a drug or insane. Confidence meant everything in a dog-eat-dog world, well, a vampire-bite-vampire world.

--

Syuusuke fell back onto his bed, his eyes already drooping over. He was exhausted beyond belief; he had balanced both a group of blood thirsty vampires who didn't know respect and a cowardly warden who didn't deserve to be respected. It wasn't a surprise that no one did respect him.

The door opened and Seiichi had a smile on his face. Atobe had a smirk and both smelled faintly of blood. Seiichi noticed that Syuusuke was falling asleep and decided to take advantage of how unaware he was.

He stood right beside Syuusuke and bent in close to his ear. "Syuusuke, you should wait for us to get home and we go eat something before you fall asleep," Seiichi teased as he felt a single hand grab his neck.

"You will shut up this minute," Syuusuke barked, his eyes fluttering open. He was not in a good mood. The eldest Fuji son was not the most pleasant when exhausted and woken up.

Atobe chuckled as he pried Syuusuke's hand away from Seiichi's neck. "Bad day, huh?"

Syuusuke sat up slowly, holding his head. "That's one way to put it." He rubbed his head. "I have a headache. That gun is loud."

Seiichi raised an eyebrow. "You had to use it?" Seiichi asked, "They must be very ill-behaved."

Syuusuke nodded. "I ran out of cigarettes too. They're so stressful and I had to go all afternoon without smoking."

Atobe looked at the two packets of cigarettes in the bin. "You had two packets in the morning?"

Syuusuke groaned. "You wouldn't believe how annoying they were. They wouldn't stay quiet, they wouldn't listen and they'd try to oppose me constantly. It's like teaching teenagers," he sighed.

"We are teenagers," Atobe so helpfully pointed out.

Syuusuke scowled. "Different story, Keigo. I'm talking about really loud, annoying, pubescent teenagers who can't think of anything except themselves and blood instead of sex. Though I'm sure a few were thinking of that as well."

"But we are loud, annoying, pubescent teenagers who can't think about anything except ourselves and blood," Atobe pointed out. "You call Seiichi and I the most annoying and loud people you ever hang around."

"So, about the gun, you just shot it to catch their attention, right?" Seiichi said, changing the subject.

Syuusuke smirked a little. "Yes, keep thinking that," he said. He had actually shot one of the 'top guys' in the shoulder. He was being ridiculously stubborn and annoying. They all listened to him after that happened.

"Keigo, I think we need to be more careful around Syuusuke from now on. He has a gun and I fear we'll be his next victims," Seiichi said as a word of caution. Syuusuke and a gun were a dangerous combination.

--

**Done! Finally. I've been meaning to finish this for the last week or so… my bad. I hope you liked it!!**

**Please review!**

**Asami-chann**


	6. Dangerous Intentions

**Chapter Six – Dangerous intentions**

There was still a slight glitter to the sky. Sunset had made the sky and orange colour, highlighting the golden shade of the preschooler's eyes. He sat on the rubber swing and let his feet swing along the playground bark.

"Hello?" another voice asked. It was quiet and unsure.

The golden eyed boy looked up at the other. "Hello," he murmured.

The dark haired boy smiled. "My name's Michael, but call me Mikey. I have an older sister and an older brother and I live with my mummy and grandparents-"

"You like to talk, don't you?" the other boy stated rather plainly. The look in his eyes showed he probably didn't talk to many people his age. Most likely he was lonely.

Mikey nodded. "I like hearing myself talk," he admitted. =

The other boy's eyes lightened a little as he chuckled. "You say it's true? You're weird."

Mikey shrugged. He obviously didn't see what was abnormal with what he just said. "What's your name?"

"Taiki. Echizen Taiki," he introduced with a nod of the head. There was the slight curve of a smile on the edge of his lips.

Mikey waited for a few seconds. "Well?"

Taiki was confused. He tilted his head a little to the side. "Well what?"

Mikey sighed but still smiled. "How old are you, where do you live, who is in your family?"

Taiki wasn't used to this much conversation in English. Sure, he had been taught some basic English considering his grandparents lived in America, but he wasn't _that _fluent. "I'm four and a half years old. I live in Japan with my Mummy and Daddy, Ryoga and Ren Echizen. My uncle and grandma and grandpa live in America. My Mummy's family lives in Japan."

Mikey smiled as he looked rather interested. "I don't have an uncle… what's his name?"

Taiki smiled. "Echizen Ryoma. Ryoma-nii is more like a big brother though…"

Mikey nodded. "Do you want a push?" he asked, pointing at the swing. Taiki nodded.

It started slowly, the pushes slowly getting stronger and Taiki swinging higher. Taiki felt his body slip slowly as he got higher. His hands weren't _that _strong. Sure, he was related to some of the best tennis players in Japan, but his grip was rather loose. He was still quite young. "Ah! Yamete! Yamete kudasai yo!" he called out, forgetting that Mikey didn't know Japanese. "Stop!" he screamed finally, remembering the English word as his hands slipped. He fell from the highest point onto the ground with a thud.

"Are you okay?" Mikey asked frantically, running over to where Taiki had fell, easily bringing the swing to a halt with one hand. He stopped, his eyes growing wide as he held his nose and covered his mouth.

"It-tai…" Taiki muttered before pulling his hand away from his cheek. "Ah, I'm bleeding."

"What's going on here?" a strangely bell-like voice chimed. "What happened?"

Taiki wiped the tears from his eyes. "I fell off the swing," he murmured.

Syuusuke smiled. "Be careful. You could really get hurt if you fall too hard."

Taiki nodded as he sat up. "Mikey, are you okay?" he asked and Syuusuke's attention drew to the young vampire. Mikey was in shock. Both hands covered his mouth and nose, trying to get rid of as much of the desirable smell as possible.

Syuusuke frowned. "Saa, I think he's a little scared of blood," he said, though it was quite the contrary; Mikey was scared of himself around blood. "Are you okay to get home?" he asked in Mikey's direction. Mikey nodded. "So, then, Taiki-kun, do you want me to take you home?" Syuusuke asked. He knew Taiki through a string of people. Not too well, but well enough that he should have been able to be trusted.

Taiki looked at Syuusuke. "Do you know where Ryoma-nii lives?" he asked. Syuusuke quite easily listed off the Echizen home's address and who lived there. Taiki nodded in thanks.

Mikey looked over at a pathway across the road where someone in a coat went around the corner. "There's Ella! I'm going to walk home with my sister, okay?" he said, beginning to back away. "It was nice to meet you, Taiki!" With that he ran, the others not even sure his sister was there.

Syuusuke gently laced his fingers in Taiki's hand, holding him with a firm enough grip Taiki couldn't run away but loose enough Taiki wouldn't notice. Taiki looked up at Syuusuke with a confused expression. Mikey was running off, presumably in the direction his sister had supposedly been seen walking, with a pained expression on his face. Taiki shook his head, waving off his worry for his new friend. He struggled to keep up with the vampire taking him home. Of course, how this person knew where he lived was beyond him; Syuusuke had said the right address and that he knew his family quite well.

They turned a corner, dark eyes looking at Syuusuke. There was a snarl. "Let go of Taiki," it growled.

Taiki's eyes brightened up. "Ryoma-nii!" Syuusuke let go and Taiki ran up to Ryoma's side. "Syuusuke was going to take me home! I got lost and waited in the park..." Taiki looked up at Ryoma and noticed Ryoma's eyes were fixated on Syuusuke.

"What were you planning to do with Taiki?" Ryoma growled, looking straight into Syuusuke's eyes. This didn't bother Syuusuke too much.

Syuusuke took a breath of his cigarette. "You should watch out for your nephew, _Ry-o-ma._ You never know what kind of people live around here." Syuusuke was taunting him. Taiki shrank back behind Ryoma, scared of the two of them. Syuusuke in took another breath of cigarette and blew it out as he folded his arms.

Ryoma growled, looking ready to attack him. His stance was strong as his golden eyes tried to stare Syuusuke down. "Do _not_ touch my nephew, ever! I don't care about how we were in Japan, times have changed. I know this though: you're not to be trusted with any human."

Syuusuke frowned. Did Taiki know the existence of vampires? "I see... You see this?" Syuusuke held out his cigarette. "As long as I have this, there's no need to worry. So don't worry over such petty things. Besides, they're only human."

Ryoma grabbed onto Syuusuke shirt. "Someone like you would never understand what humans go through," Ryoma hissed at Syuusuke. Taiki looked scared. He hadn't seen Ryoma this fired up about _anything_ in a long time. Nanjirou explained his emotionless state as a result of giving up on others. Not believing that anyone in the world could understand him. That until someone did, Ryoma wouldn't show emotion, ever.

But Ryoma was angry. That meant he _knew_ this person. Taiki smiled a little. Anger wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It's a connection to humanity. That meant that Ryoma wasn't emotionless as he had been presumed to be.

Syuusuke looked down at Ryoma. Ryoma was still short. "I guess I'll be seeing you around. I am temporarily working just near here, _Ry-o-ma_," Syuusuke taunted once again. He took Ryoma's hand and pried it open with some effort. "You know, it was rather strange walking into an empty room in Japan. You're very impatient, not being able to wait a week."

Ryoma's fist swung around to hit Syuusuke square in the cheek, Syuusuke dropping his cigarette as he stumbled. Syuusuke looked up at Ryoma who inhaled, trying to gain that calm he usually had. "What do you mean? It was right there on the desk! Oyaji dragged me back to America."

Syuusuke looked at the blood on his hand from where Ryoma had punched him and back to Ryoma. "Your room was _empty._ Only your bed frame, mattress and empty desk. There was nothing there."

Ryoma growled again, this time turning around. He stormed off, his movements so swift Taiki didn't notice Ryoma was carrying him on his back until he was there. Ryoma certainly wasn't weak, even if he looked beyond it.

"Ryoma-nii, do you know Syuusuke?" Taiki asked as Ryoma continued to walk, the same annoyed look on his face. Taiki had rested his chin on Ryoma's shoulder comfortably and could have almost fallen asleep there.

Ryoma sighed. "When I was in America, he was also in the Seigaku tennis team," he explained. His expression was softer than usual. Compared to what his expression normally was like, he looked rather happy.

Taiki smiled. "Really? Was he a regular too?"

Ryoma nodded. "He was. He was a third year while I was a first year."

Taiki looked rather happy. Ryoma was not only talking, but he could see the tiny curl of a smile on the side of his mouth. "Syuusuke-kun is pretty strong. Yumiko-chan told me he used to play tennis but I thought he went to St. Rudolf like Yuuta-kun."

Ryoma was rather stunned at this comment. "You know his family?" he asked.

Taiki tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Kiyoshi-ji is going to marry Yumiko-chan. Well, 'kaasan says he might one day."

Ryoma thought back. "Oh, is that so? Who is he?"

Taiki gently hit Ryoma's arm. "That's 'kaasan's brother, Ryoma-nii! My other uncle!"

Ryoma had picked up that bit. 'Ji' meant uncle and Ryoma didn't know of another brother. At least he hoped he didn't have another one.

"Ryoma! Taiki!" Rinko called from the front garden. She ran up and hugged the pair of them, a smile on her face. Rinko had seen the change of expression in Ryoma's face even more than Taiki. She lived with the formerly lifeless being. Of course, it wasn't much, but it was a start.

"Baa-chan!" Taiki said with a huge smile on his face. Ryoma put him down on the ground so Taiki could give his grandmother a hug. "I went to the park and made a new friend. Then I fell off the swing so Syuusuke was going to walk me home but Ryoma came up and they argued and Ryoma carried me all the way home."

Rinko looked up at Ryoma. "You argued with 'Syuusuke'? Who is that?" she asked curiously as Ryoma folded his arms.

"No one important," Ryoma breathed and Taiki tugged on Ryoma's shirt.

"That's one of the old regulars at Seigaku. He's Yumiko-chan's brother!" Taiki explained. His voice quietened. "They were really mad at each other. Ryoma-nii even punched Syuusuke in the face! It was scary…"

Rinko looked up at Ryoma. "Ryoma, you don't punch people! I don't care why. This Syuusuke person used to be on your team. You used to be friends."

"Ryoma punched Fuji?" Eiji asked as he leaned over the fence. He was quickly followed by Momo and Oishi. Oishi had been yelling out to Eiji, but no one had heard him too well. Eiji smiled as he looked at Rinko and Taiki. "Hi Rinko-san and… I don't know your name."

Rinko smiled. "Hello, Eiji-kun. This is Taiki, Ryoma's nephew."

Taiki waved. "Hello!"

Ryoma sighed, pulling his keys from his pocket. "Don't follow me," he said before the keys were snatched from his fingers.

"Echizen, you can't ignore your seniors," Oishi said as Momo twirled the keys around his finger. The pair had obviously caught up. It seemed no one else was around though.

Eiji looked at Oishi. "That sounds weird, not coming from Kaidoh, nya," he pointed out. Oishi nodded as he took the keys from Momo and handed them to Rinko. Rinko smiled as she looked at the boys.

"Ryoma, go out with your friends for a little while. Don't be too late, we have guests for dinner," she smiled as she put Ryoma's keys in her pocket. "You won't be getting your keys back until you go out with your friends. They came all the way from Japan to see you."

Eiji smiled as he opened the gate and dragged Ryoma outside. "So what happened? I need to know, nya. Why'd you punch Fuji?"

Oishi looked rather concerned. "Punched? Ryoma, you shouldn't pun-"

"I already got that from my mother, Oishi-senpai," Ryoma said. Oishi smiled and nodded. "He was with Taiki and I don't trust him."

Momo folded his arms. "Fuji's changed, you know. He's not as heartless towards people as he used to be," Momo explained. He looked at Taiki from behind him and smiled. "I wonder how my brother and sister are going. I remember when they were that little."

Oishi nodded. "How old are they now?"

Momo smiled. "Eleven and fourteen," he said, looking rather proud. Of course, his siblings were both quite a bit younger than him – he was eighteen after all – but he still treated them like they were in elementary school again. Well, the youngest still was in elementary school.

Eiji grabbed Oishi and Ryoma's hands. "Come on! Burgers, burgers!" Momo joined in chanting as Ryoma sighed and Oishi laughed a little. Only Momo and Eiji could be so happy about going to eat burgers.

Inside, the other regulars waited. Minus Taka – of course – An and Kaidoh who still was nowhere to be found, they all sat around the table and were talking. Eiji pushed Ryoma inside and in between him and Tezuka. Ryoma wasn't going to escape. No definitely, not. Ryoma had to stay and spend at least that time with him. If he didn't then they would have to drag him around all night until he really knew he should have stayed.

"How are you, Echizen?" Inui asked out of curiosity.

Eiji smiled. "Ryoma punched Syuusuke!" he exclaimed. Of course, this shocked Inui and Tezuka. They didn't expect Ryoma to punch anyone, yet alone Syuusuke.

"Interesting," Inui muttered as he mumbled his trademark 'ii data' and scribbled in the notebooks he still carried around for some reason. You would have thought he would have filled too many to carry, but it wasn't so. Inui still carried around those same notebooks and presumably had more for other situations. He had a whole notebook for just Renji, for goodness sakes.

Momo leaned forward, trying to peer over Inui's shoulder. He always wondered what sort of things Inui wrote in there. He seemed to know _everything _about anyone he met more than once. It was no wonder a lot of people simply classified Inui as a stalker.

"Momo, where's An?" Inui asked without even looking up from his notebook. "Please refrain from looking over my shoulder. According to my calculations, you're two point seven-three centimetres too short to see my data from over my shoulder in this position."

"Oh," Momo said, sitting back in his seat properly. "An had to go back to Japan. Something is going on in Fudomine so she had to go."

Oishi smiled. "That's a shame. It's better than what I've been forced to do," he sighed. "They've got me working in VCMC. The Medical half of it anyway."

Eiji nodded. He looked at Momo. "So that means I can hang out with you whenever Oishi's working, nya~!" he said to Momo with a grin on his face. "That way we won't be lonely."

Ryoma shivered. He had felt the cold stare of Tezuka on him since he walked in. Was Tezuka trying to stare a hole through his head, or was this Tezuka's form of entertainment; watching others be uncomfortable in his presence. "Buchou, is there something you want?" he muttered, his head down low and looking from under his green hair.

Tezuka continued to stare wordlessly. Ryoma looked at his former-captain and waited for a response. "Echizen, what caused you to punch Fuji?" he asked finally. His expression softened just a little. Enough that Ryoma then understood the cold glare was Tezuka trying to figure out what was going on in Ryoma's head to make him punch someone else.

Ryoma folded his arms. "Does smoking really prevent Syu- Fuji, from killing others?" he asked in return.

Tezuka looked at Eiji. If anyone would know the answer to that question, it would be Eiji. After all, once upon a time, Eiji and Syuusuke were best friends. "Yes, it's true. He's been doing that for a while now. He started just after you left and has rarely drunk blood since." Eiji's expression was rather down, now. It lacked that former life it had whenever he spoke of his best friend.

"I see," Ryoma muttered. "I didn't believe him. Taiki was bleeding and Syuusuke was taking him somewhere. I threatened Syuusuke to let him go and he taunted me in reply. So, I got frustrated and punched him." Ryoma looked at his fist. "But he didn't even seem bothered about the blood on his own face, yet alone on Taiki."

Inui turned a few pages in his notebook. "Let's see, Fuji Syuusuke," He read out nonchalantly. "Around the time of the National Tournament in his senior year of middle school, his average intake of blood was at six or more litres of blood in a day."

Eiji frowned. "That's more than my whole family intakes in a month. All nine of us," he murmured. He remembered the struggle that Syuusuke went through.

_Eiji clicked his tongue as he fished out some ice blocks from the freezer and took them over to the bench. He bent back the plastic and the ice blocks fell onto a thin cloth._

_He closed the freezer door and hoped that the bottle of water he put in there would freeze soon. They didn't have any ice packs ready, so ice blocks had to do._

_Eiji looked at Syuusuke, who was sitting on the wide windowsill with a hand up to his face. "Fujiko... are you alright?" he asked, walking over to Syuusuke, trying to get a better look at him._

Inui pushed up his glasses and continued. "Currently, from what information I can gather, he consumes barely a litre in a year. But he also now intakes at least ten cigarettes in a day. Those are usually days he's able to relax, which are quite rare, but otherwise, he could quite easily go through fifty or more cigarettes in a day. A few days ago, he went through two fifty-cigarette packets before noon. That was when he was asked, like Oishi, to help at VCMC."

"That's amazing and worrying at the same time," Oishi noted. "Cigarettes are bad for you, but how could you go through one hundred cigarettes before noon?"

Eiji looked at Inui. "Ne, Inui, how did you find out about Fuji?" he asked curiously.

Inui pushed up his glasses. "I have my ways." Inui looked at Ryoma. "More importantly, Echizen." Ryoma looked up. "What was the relationship between you and Fuji?"

Ryoma didn't know what to say. They were more than friends but to say they once dated, that wasn't entirely correct. There was no asking out, no dates unless you counted the numerous times they turned up at each other's houses, none of that traditional boyfriend/girlfriend – or in this case boyfriend/boyfriend – stuff going on.

"I'm not sure," he muttered quietly. "Why does this interest you, Inui-senpai?"

Inui nodded. "Well, earlier in the conversation, you started to call Fuji 'Syuusuke' but corrected yourself. From then on, you called him Syuusuke. You would have to have been close to Fuji at some point to be on first name basis. Not even Eiji calls Fuji 'Syuusuke'."

Eiji interrupted Inui's reasoning. "But everyone calls me Eiji. I didn't call Fuji 'Syuusuke' because I called him 'Fujiko'," he said in response. It was like he knew something everyone else didn't. It wasn't normal for Eiji to stand up for someone when there wasn't even any disrespect intended. Eiji usually was the one teasing someone.

"I see. You have a point there," Inui acknowledged. "But I don't see why you had to point this out. I was merely asking Echizen a question."

Eiji sat back in his chair. "Oh, yeah. Well…" Eiji's voice died down.

_Syuusuke, the undead one at least, stepped forward, his footsteps echoing. "Ei-ji-kun," a sinister voice from Syuusuke's lips said, trying to sound joyful, "come here."_

_Eiji edged backwards, his heart pounding. He fell back, turning over to get up and bolt out the door. Syuusuke's undead half licked his lips, one hand grabbing onto Eiji's ankle. Eiji cringed as Syuusuke's tight grip pulled him closer, unable to do a thing. Eiji winced and let out a quiet yelp as Syuusuke gripped tighter, a quiet chuckle escaping Syuusuke's lips._

"So what do you want to have?" Oishi asked logically. "They all sound delicious."

Momo looked at the menu. "You're right, Oishi-senpai," he agreed. "I might get two of the hamburgers and some fries. What about you, Echizen?"

Ryoma squinted at the menu. He had been dragged out of the house without his glasses, so he couldn't even see. Not that he was actually considering eating something. "I'm not really hungry."

Eiji smiled a little. "Come on! You're still growing, o'chibi! You need to get big and strong so you can play tennis like the pros, nya."

Oishi nodded in agreement. "You need to eat so you can stay healthy too," he added.

"At least have a little bit," Tezuka insisted, finally saying something other than accusing Ryoma. Tezuka had lightened up just in the slightest. He was more caring about others' well-being. "You need to keep up your form." Maybe he hadn't changed that much after all.

Ryoma sighed, trying his luck at the menu again. After a few moments, he deemed it impossible. "I can't read it," he muttered, closing it and sticking it in the middle of the table.

"What do you mean?" Momo asked, "It's really clear! It tells you everything that's in it from what type of bun it is to what's in the sauce."

Ryoma frowned. "No, I can't _read _it. I left my glasses at home," he pointed out, rubbing his eyes. "They were in my car too."

Eiji draped an arm over Ryoma's shoulder. "What do you mean 'glasses'? Your vision rivals mine, nya."

Ryoma quite skilfully removed his senpai's arm from his shoulder. "It _used _to rival yours. Now it's… everything is blurry," he sighed.

There was a very long silence. "Glasses?" Momo asked again. He wasn't sure if he heard that right.

Ryoma sighed. "Yes, glasses."

--

Syuusuke touched his cheek lightly and winced. His cheek was purple, the bottom of his eye black and there was a cut right down the side of his mouth where his cheek had gotten caught on his teeth. He splashed water on his face again and rubbed away the blood gently. It hurt, to put it bluntly.

"What happened to you?" Atobe asked, standing in the doorway. "Is that blood?"

Syuusuke took the glass of water and moved the water around his mouth before spitting it out. The water was still a diluted red as Syuusuke sighed, and began holding a cold ice-pack to his face again. "Leave me alone, Keigo."

Syuusuke sighed, looking at the red stains on his shirt. By the looks of Ryoma, there was nothing to him and he would never have been able to punch that hard. But he had; Syuusuke had been standing over that sink for the last hour, trying to clear up his face so he'd look normal. The bruise was already huge.

Atobe chuckled. "Oresama was merely curious," he said, stepping away from the door. "After all, you're the one whose right side of their face is purple.

Syuusuke sighed as he pulled his shirt from his shoulders. He'd need bleach to even attempt to get the blood out of it. It had blood mixed with water and dirt and whatever else was on his shirt to make the stains big, faded blotches that'd never get out.

Syuusuke threw his shirt over near his bags and took the towel to dry the ends of his hair. He could feel the towel barely touch his cheek but it hurt. He felt his phone begin to ring in his pocket.

"Hn?" he said, "Fuji Syuusuke speaking." His expression went serious as he grabbed a t-shirt and his leather jacket. "Will you paid for my speeding fine?" he asked and Atobe looked at the brunette strangely. "Saa… five minutes?"

Atobe sighed. He'd never understand him. Not that he'd ever try to anyway.

--

Syuusuke pulled his helmet from his head and automatically clutched his cheek. If he didn't have to wear a helmet, he wouldn't have, but he wasn't going to sit in a taxi. He sighed and unzipped his jacket. Mentally, he formed a to-do list; buy a new shirt and a motorbike jacket with ventilation so he wouldn't boil.

"Fuji-san!" Lachlan called out as he waved Syuusuke in. "Come quickly on unicorn."

"English, Lachlan, English!" Syuusuke replied as he darted up the stairs. "What's going on?"

Lachlan took a deep breath as he grabbed Syuusuke's wrist and dragged him inside forcefully. "One of the patients is really sick and is losing control. Oishi-san is struggling to keep him still."

Syuusuke sighed. He liked to avoid the medical half of VCMC; he didn't control that half. "Is there any blood?" he asked.

Lachlan chuckled nervously. "I sure hope not," he replied.

Inside, Oishi had his arms pushing down on the flailing vampire, his weight all shifted forward to keep him down. He turned his head to see Syuusuke, a wave of relief coming over him. Syuusuke came and in turn pressed his weight onto one side of the vampire, therefore freeing at least one of Oishi's hands. As Oishi's weight slipped from the opposite arm, Syuusuke merely adjusted to keep that side as still as possible as well.

"This probably isn't the time to ask, but how hard did Echizen punch you?" Oishi asked. "The entire right side of your face is purple."

Syuusuke groaned. "It was hard. It's not still bleeding is it?" he asked, turning his head slightly toward Oishi.

Oishi inspected it quickly. "Just a little bit. Have you been putting ice on it?" he asked as he looked down and trying to hold the injection straight. The other vampire moving wasn't helpful. "You need to keep-"

One of the vampire's arms flicked up, squarely hit Syuusuke on the bruised side of his face. Instinctively, Syuusuke let go and trying to hold his aching face. Lachlan stood behind him, a mere smirk on his face as he watched this go on.

Oishi gasped as he felt undead vampire hands grab at his neck, about to pierce right through the skin with ease. "Fuji!" Oishi tried to yell, "Lachlan!"

Syuusuke grabbed at the hands of the vampire as he dragged Lachlan over to the side of the bed. "Hold on," he ordered as he rifled through his bag. He wasn't going to let anyone die while in a state of control. He'd rather the undead die than the conscientious one. Lachlan tried to weigh down the arms of the vampire, but alas, he was too light. He even got up off the floor and put his entire weight on the vampire's arms, but he was naturally strong and muscular, unlike the very thin Lachlan.

Oishi felt his neck begin to bleed as he tried to pull away. He slowly got back further but blood dripped down his neck. He held his breath, the vampire's hand digging in further and further. He could feel the nails under his skin, pulling at the muscles close to the surface.

Syuusuke pulled out his gun, holding it straight out at the vampire's head. The vampire, noticing this, began moving his head around, dodging the gun as well as he could. Syuusuke quickly responded by pressing it up against his head, his finger toying at the trigger. "Let. Him. Go," he ordered but there was no release.

The sound of the gun going off filled the room and undoubtedly the entire building. The hospital wasn't as sound proof as Confinement. It took a few moments for the vampire's hand to drop, the message reaching his limb to release.

With the release, Oishi fell to the floor, clutching at his neck and trying to hold the blood in his veins. At the last second, the vampire had pierced his neck, nicking his artery. He knew this though: if the bleeding didn't stop in the next few seconds, he was going to die on the spot. He pulled at the sheet and held that to his neck, but it became red quickly.

"Oishi, what do I need to do?" Syuusuke asked, literally holding his arms either side of the now-dead vampire and jumping over the bed in a single jump, swinging his legs around. Oishi shot a glance at Fuji as barely even tried to speak. Speaking moved the muscles in his neck and he needed them.

Breathing was becoming increasingly difficult.

Syuusuke looked for something he could hold against Oishi's neck rather than the sheet of the bed. "Where's the cloth?" he asked in Japanese, Lachlan looking at the pair in confusion. "Is it over here?"

Oishi pointed at a cupboard as he gasped for air. Syuusuke leaped over the bed again, pulling open the cupboard and riffling through the shelves. He finally held the sterilized cloth in his hand as he jumped the bed again, opening the packaging. Oishi was leaning against the bed, his hand loose with blood covering his fingers.

Syuusuke tried to hold it down, trying to get Oishi to look at him. He helped him lay down flat, his head a little raised to stop too much blood getting out from his neck and supported him. "Oishi, it'll be alright."

There was no response. Syuusuke tapped Oishi's face gently. "Oishi, stay with me," he said a little louder. He gently shook Oishi's arm. "Oishi!"

Syuusuke gently held his fingers to Oishi's neck, trying to find a pulse amongst the blood. "Oishi, come on. Wake up. You need to stay with me," Syuusuke said, tapping his cheek again.

Lachlan came over, squatting down to take a good look at the blood that had been lost. "He's dead, Fuji-san. There's no way he could survive loosing that much blood."

Syuusuke gently let Oishi's body down, awakening to the fact his entire body had already been reacting to the blood. How else would he have been able to continuously jump the bed in one bound, pull the cupboard doors so hard one came off its hinges and manage to unconsciously dig his own hands into Oishi's neck.

Syuusuke got up, promptly wiping his hands on his shirt. That made two new shirts that he needed to buy. His luck was obviously running thin today.

"Be careful!" Lachlan called out as Syuusuke walked away, trying to clear his head.

_**Crawling back, I see…**_

Syuusuke inhaled sharply. He hadn't heard that voice beckoning for him in years. This time, it was stronger. He was covered in blood, so it shouldn't have been a surprise, but for it to be this strong… he wasn't sure what to do.

"Fuji-san, here. Take this coat and go buy some new clothes. Get rid of the ones you have. They reek of blood," Lachlan said, appearing behind Syuusuke almost soundlessly.

Syuusuke nodded. "Thank you."

--

**A.N: Well, I had to end it there because otherwise it would go on forever. I was going to put that last scene where Oishi dies at the start of the next chapter, but Frog-kun insisted, so I put it here.**

**Hm… I wonder who the antagonist of this fic is. I know! Why don't you go tell me on my profile! There's a poll up. I'm rather curious to see the results.**

**Some Thrill at last! Even if it's only Ryoma punching Syuusuke in the face. Syuusuke's going to need a whole new wardrobe by the time he leaves America. XD**

**Please review and tell me who you think the antagonist (bad guy) is in the poll!**

**Asami-chann.**


	7. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**Chapter Seven – One step forward, two steps back. **

Syuusuke sat still in the corner of the room, his arms crossed over his body. He refused to let that _demon _out of him again. He didn't want to hurt anybody again. He had taken measures to make sure the 'voice' never came back; but it had, and it was going to haunt him like it did before.

"Syuusuke, will you _please _get up?" Seiichi asked gruffly. Syuusuke had been sitting there for an hour without saying anything. There was still no response. "Fine. Be that way. Keigo, we're going out for dinner."

Atobe sighed, pulling his jacket onto his shoulders. "Do you want us to bring back anything?" he asked in Syuusuke's general direction. "We'll get you some more cigarettes."

Syuusuke looked up at Atobe as if pleading they would get back soon. Either he was pleading for that or for them not to leave him alone.

_**Oh, please.**_

Syuusuke froze, his fingers curling up instinctively. "T-thanks," he breathed.

"So he talks to _you_," Seiichi sighed. "Just don't go out killing too many people while we're out."

Syuusuke nodded. "I'll try not to," he muttered. He could feel the presence of his other self creeping up inside of him and haunting him.

_**Don't lie, Syuusuke. We're going hun-**_

Syuusuke held his eyes closed, his hands holding onto his pants so tightly they began to tear. Atobe frowned, noticing the pained expression on Syuusuke's face. He may have been an arrogant asshole sometimes, but he didn't torture people. When someone was sick or in pain, he helped them. It was the kind of person he was and had been for a very long time.

"You okay?" he asked, carefully prying open Syuusuke's hands. Syuusuke opened one eye slightly to look at the rich teenager. Atobe actually had a look of concern on his face.

"Ye-"

_**Come on. Just let me out for a little bit. It's been ages since I've had anything decent!**_

Syuusuke's hands grabbed on forcefully to Atobe's wrists as he eyes shut. "I'm not okay," he whispered as he held on to Atobe's wrists as if for dear life.

Atobe looked at Seiichi. "Seiichi, we shouldn't leave Syuusuke by himself. He's obviously not well," he said as he felt Syuusuke's grip got stronger and stronger. Atobe began to wince as he felt the pressure begin to crush his wrists. "O-ow! Syuusuke, let go of Ore-sama's wrists this instant. Or at least loosen your grip so you're not breaking them."

Syuusuke let go completely, his hands dropping down to his sides. His eyes opened slowly, revealing a brilliant red and the sharpest, most vicious intent Atobe and Seiichi had seen in a very long time. Coming from Syuusuke, the level of blood lust that instantly filled the room was unbelievable. Syuusuke normally allowed no blood lust at all. At the slightest feeling for even a drop, he'd be smoking or riding his motorcycle to make it go away. It had been that way since he discovered how to cure his lust for the precious red liquor.

"I think we should get him those cigarettes… well, now," Seiichi pointed out as he looked at Atobe.

Atobe nodded. "Will you be alright or do you want me to stay here?" he asked as he pinned down Syuusuke's arms.

"Just hurry up and run," Seiichi ordered. Atobe got up in seconds and left the room.

--

Ryoma sat in his grandmother's house in the quiet town of Thomerson's creek. He desperately missed his grandmother, not that he would tell anyone or even admit it to himself. He had kept almost everything the same way his grandmother would, the only difference was the lack of light in the rooms. Ryoma wasn't too bothered with light. During the day, the blinds were closed and if it got too dark, he'd turn on a lamp.

It was simple; living in a town with no humans.

"Oi, open up!" a voice called loudly as they banged on the door. Ryoma recognized the voice instantly. What the hell were _they _doing there?

Ryoma opened the door, staring into the eyes of two of his school seniors. He could see the goofy smile on the male one's face. "What the hell do you want?" Ryoma asked, trying to fake patience. He hated his seniors with a fiery passion. Or at least the ones who spoke to him, anyway.

"We heard that you live out here all by yourself and we need a little get away time so," the male said with a grin as he looked at his 'girlfriend'.

"We'll lay off for a while if you let us do what we want to do without telling a soul," she replied. Her hair was long and dyed blonde. She obviously wasn't self conscious about anything, a short skirt that revealed more of her panties than it hid and a shirt that really was as good as not being there.

Ryoma smirked. Maybe this would work. "Does it reverse?" he asked out of curiosity.

They looked at each other. "I don't see why not," the male shrugged.

Ryoma smiled. "Well then, as long as this house looks like you've never been here when you leave, come in," he said as he turned. They really had made a big mistake coming into the house. He had no doubt that every single vampire in the whole of Thomerson's creek had realised humans were in the area.

He locked the door, ignoring the sounds of shuffling through the bushes and along the ground. It was so quiet the seniors wouldn't have heard it until the sound was directly into their ears.

"This is a nice place, Echizen," one of them commented. "We may swing by here more often."

Ryoma chuckled to himself. "That wouldn't be a good idea," he said in a way that sounded almost like a joke. "Thomerson's creek is the home of folklore and mythology. If it really does exist, it's here."

They looked at him as if he were a crazy man, then began to look around his grandmother's house again. All of the rooms were immaculate, every door closed to insulate the heat in the winter and able to open and release all of the heat in the summer.

"There's a room right down the back where you can do whatever you like," Ryoma said as he waved his hand to shoo them away. He was going to read a book or something and try and ignore them. Perhaps he'd actually start his homework before nightfall for once.

There were a few noises Ryoma thought he should investigate, but he left them alone for the most part. He would rather not know what they did in their spare time. It had begun to get dark and there were even more sounds from outside. He cursed his hearing. He stood up and put his book on the chair. The sounds were going to distract him constantly.

He grabbed a broom and opened the front door. "Alright, fuck off. Get your own prey," he said as he slapped the broom on the ground. He didn't actually need the broom, but if the others came outside, he could make up an excuse easier than if he had a vampire by the neck.

A vampire stood from almost directly beside Ryoma. "What is this? Being selfish? You've got two in there. I can tell," they said with a slight hiss in his voice.

Ryoma looked blankly at the vampire. "I live amongst humans. I suffer constantly. Deal with it," he retorted with a slight hiss.

There were a few other vampires that began to surround Ryoma. "Can't you share just a little?" a female one asked.

"I see," Ryoma said as his hand gripped around her neck. "We'll share one of you ferals' blood later. These two are mine."

--

Seiichi was beyond mad. He held his arm loosely as if not to flare up the pain again. He suddenly felt empathy for what he had done to Syuusuke all those years ago – the coat would have hurt a lot more than his wounds.

Syuusuke had managed to break free from Seiichi's grasp with somewhat ease and threw a bag, ironically with the Fuji family crest on it, straight at Seiichi. First reaction – catch it. Oh how it _burned_. His arm froze still at the strange burning sensation until it spread like wildfire. Seiichi had let go finally and his fingers were black. His hand was also black for the most part, but other areas of his arm were bubbling from the burns.

"Oishi! Get your ass out here!" Seiichi called loudly as he stepped into VCMC. He had no patience; if he had known Syuusuke could snap back to his original state so quickly he would have told Syuusuke to buy a lot more cigarettes than he had.

"I'm very sorry to tell you that Oishi-kun is no longer in existence," a voice came in _very _traditional Japanese.

Seiichi turned to only notice the bright streaks of colour through the girl's hair. It was greens, blondes, reds, pinks, everything upon a black base. "What do you mean, 'no longer in existence'?"

Elaine rolled her eyes. "Do you speak English or do I have to talk to you like an old woman?" she spat out in English. Seiichi nodded to the English part. Obviously she was in a worse temperament than he was. "He died, you fuckwit."

Seiichi was rather surprised by her vulgar language. "Died? How?"

Elaine sighed. "You better ask that asshole, Lachlan. He was there," she said with a slight less anger. "Either that or that Fuji-kun was there too. I haven't seen him fucking since."

"What?" Seiichi asked. This was news to him. Syuusuke had been silent about the reasons for his sudden lust that had come upon him. Seiichi had just guessed that it was because he hadn't had many cigarettes. But it seemed he was wrong.

"Get the hell inside now, Deshi," a voice barked with an unbeatable authority – the kind of authority that could even send shivers down the spine of the ruler of the world.

"My name is not fucking Deshi!" Kaidoh barked back. "It's Ka-o-ru, Ezekiel."

The man in his thirties had a downcast glare as he pushed Kaidoh back onto the floor. "Shut your mouth this instant! I taught you better English than that!" the authoritative voice barked once again.

"Oh don't bring that bastard here!" Elaine shouted back.

Seiichi felt very left out of the loop. He had no idea what Kaidoh had to do with these people but obviously, he wasn't on their good sides. The guy with the voice of authority sounded like he was older than he appeared by many years.

"Not even your daughter wants you, Deshi," the authoritative man said again.

Daughter? Now Seiichi was very clueless. Kaidoh was a year younger than him, wasn't he? Elaine appeared to be the same age as well, which made no sense if she were to be Kaidoh's daughter. "What is going on?" he asked in Japanese.

Kaidoh turned his head to Seiichi as if it were the first time he noticed he was there. "Damn it," he swore as he tried to think of how he would explain himself. "I'm not who you think I am."

"You're not Kaidoh?" Seiichi was indefinitely confused.

"No, I'm- Yes, I'm Kaidoh," he said, now confusing himself. "I mean, I'm not like the rest of you. I'm an immortal."

Seiichi was a little less confused, but this didn't explain much. "Please explain-"

"Your arm," the man said in English as he noticed the burns on Seiichi's arms, "Get some pig's blood for that. It'll heal it right up."

Seiichi didn't appreciate being interrupted, but this was the best thing he had heard all day. "Where can I get some pig's blood?" he asked as he looked at him.

--

Seiichi's brow furrowed as he watched Atobe follow Syuusuke's every movement, analysing his every moment as if that something would go horribly wrong if he took his eyes away. Lachlan looked at them all with a laugh. It turned out the only person that knew – and was willing to take them – where the hidden place was. Seiichi just shook his head as if he were the only sane person present. Lachlan had completely ignored the front door of the old home.

What surprised Seiichi was Lachlan _actually _knew where he was going. There a door on the side of the house, connected to what looked like a stairwell like those on the top of buildings. The door opened and there were the quiet sounds of wind chimes and what sounded like a small ocarina song. Syuusuke held his head, something about the tune making his head ring uncontrollably. He began to hiss in pain as the sounds continued down the stairs.

"This place is exactly as I remembered," Lachlan said with a laugh. It seemed that Lachlan hadn't been there in a long time.

Seiichi watched as he saw shelves upon shelves of things he recognised – such as blood canisters and a few herb jars – and even more things he did not. It was in a back room, so he couldn't see the extent of what actually was in that room. It was behind a counter, probably taking up a quarter of the room.

A voice came from the back room nonchalantly. "What do you want?" Seiichi merely saw the glint of glasses as the owner walked past the door, meaning the back room was much bigger than previously thought.

"Uh, what was it again? Pig's blood and…"

"Don't look at me!" Seiichi exclaimed as Lachlan looked at him for help. "You're the 'Elder', you should know this stuff. I don't even speak the language."

"That just sounded like English to me," the voice retorted again. "Pig's blood for the burn and what's the other for?"

Lachlan chuckled as he looked at Syuusuke, who was now slumped down in the corner, holding his head. "For control or something… I can't remember. They dragged me here because they didn't know the way."

"You're useless," Seiichi sighed. "Oi, do you speak Japanese?"

"Sou da," the voice replied confirmed in Japanese. Seiichi looked to be very relieved by this.

"He's okay for control." Seiichi threw a glance at Syuusuke. "Okay, he's not at the moment. He just wants to decrease the frequency he needs to drink blood."

"Well, you have several options: blood when he needs it, blood canisters, find an addiction, remedies, confinement or ultimately, if it's really that strong, death."

"He already has an addiction," Seiichi noted.

"Is he here?"

"Yes, he is. Not in very good shape, though."

Finally, the owner of the voice came out of the back room with a bottle of bright red liquid. "Ah, Yukimura."

"E-Echizen?" Seiichi asked, rather shocked. "You, of all people, have a place like this?"

"I inherited it. My grandmother used to run it," Ryoma sighed. "Monkey King."

Atobe snarled. "It's nice to see you're okay, Echizen. You need to eat some food or something. You're as thin as paper."

Lachlan had a smirk on his face. "I thought I recognised you," he said with a sly smile. "You're that old hag's grandson. I remember when I first came to this store as a boy. That was a long time ago."

Ryoma quite frankly tried his best to recognise him. If he had only seen him once, then it wasn't a surprise that Ryoma didn't remember. He forgot who Sakuno was regularly for the first month or so that he knew her. "I'm sorry, I don't know you."

"Course you do! I think my hair was black then," Lachlan remembered. "Oh wait, you're only… fourteen?"

"Seventeen, dumbass," Ryoma swore at him. "Here's the pig's blood. Drink about two hundred millilitres every few hours."

Seiichi looked at Syuusuke. "And what about him?" he asked. "We're not going to kill him, by the way and he can't go into confinement – he runs it."

Ryoma thought for a moment. "There's one way," he said as he looked at Seiichi. His gaze suddenly became downcast. "But he'll have to stay with me for any space of time between a few days and a few weeks." Ryoma's words were followed by the quiet muttering of something the others were sure they didn't want to hear.

"I see," Atobe sighed. "He's all yours."

"You don't have to be so enthusiastic, Keigo," Seiichi said.

"The giant grape presses upward in the rainbow where many potato fishes must go," Lachlan said in very, _very _bad Japanese.

"I think he means we're leaving," Atobe helpfully translated. "We don't understand him either."

"You could be a translator for idiots," Seiichi said with a small chuckle.

"Or monkeys," Ryoma added. "You are the Monkey King, after all."

"Ore-sama is not Son Goku from Saiyuki," Atobe retorted angrily. The joke had gone on long enough. There was no reason for it to continue. They were no longer rivals in tennis or on opposing teams, and certainly didn't see each other very often at all.

Of course, this wasn't new to Atobe either; he worked in a large business where it was survival of the fittest, even if the heir was the one to next lead the company. The heir got nowhere if they were not suitable for the role, so rumours were formed frequently by people who wanted to get up the ranks faster. The small tried to take down the big in order to become big themselves – the business world was just one large form of prejudice against itself. Company verse company, employee against other employees and employers.

Ryoma sighed. "Well, see you," he said with a Japanese accent. He was confusing Japanese with English again. It was very hard co-ordinating his accents in the right way when his family all expected him to speak Japanese and at school he was supposed to use English. Otherwise, he didn't talk to anyone, so he just spoke to himself in whatever he felt like at the time.

"Bye. We'll see you when you bring back Syuusuke, ne?" Seiichi said with a smile.

--

Ryoga smiled as he dragged Ryoma by the wrists out of the car. "You have to come meet someone," he said almost excitedly. Ryoga was in his twenties now – he was supposed to be a responsible father. Ryoma merely sighed at his brother's antics – they resembled his father more than he could have imagined at times – as he was dragged into the hospital. He hated the smell; bad food, blood and disinfectant all mixed together with the smell of the sick, sweaty people.

"Is Kawada Minami still in room three four two?" Ryoga asked. Ryoma's jaw dropped at the name. If this was the woman who gave birth to Ryoga and threw him like a toy to their father, Ryoga should have still despised her.

"Yes, she is. It's not fair that she is going to die like this," the nurse said. "She should be awake…"

Ryoga nodded in thanks and began to walk down the halls again. They stopped at the door marked three-four-two and the door was ajar. Ryoma could just define a woman with long black hair and blotchy, pale skin.

"Hey, baa-chan!" Ryoma joked, calling her an old lady. She turned, looking even paler than Ryoma. Her face had a red flush to it, perhaps from an intense fever. Her eyes glittered with happiness and Ryoma scowled. It was _her._

"Oh, Ryo-Ryo!" Minami said with a kind smile. "I missed you. Don't tell me… this is Ryoma-kun?" She was the younger – less healthy looking – mirror image of their grandmother. Ryoma couldn't help but inwardly chuckle at his brother's nickname from his mother.

"It is," Ryoga smiled. "How are you feeling?"

Minami smiled as she chuckled. "I've been better. The old lady wasn't lying when she said die of a terrible illness. That woman had psychic powers." Minami sat with her hands in her lap. "More importantly, how are you feeling?"

Ryoga chuckled, completely ignoring the question. "I'm glad. You look better today," he said. The feelings toward his birth mother were mixed. He was given to Nanjirou at eight years old, but his mother was already getting sick before he was born. She couldn't cope with medical bills and raising a child on her own, so she lied and sent Ryoga away in the most painful way she could – telling him that he didn't care about him and never to talk to her again. Ryoga found out that she had lied and was first mad, but then he was sympathetic because his mother was going to die. Ryoga loved Nanjirou and Rinko – Nanjirou was his real father, after all – but he still loved his mother because she was his mother. That unconditional love people still had even if they hated their parents with a burning passion.

"How are Nanjirou and Rinko?"

Ryoga woke up from his thoughts. "Oh, they're both annoyed at this one-" He nudged his younger half-brother. "-but I think they are pretty well. Rinko's been a bit under pressure lately, so she's a little under the weather."

Ryoma scoffed at his brother's remark. So he was unsociable, barely ever home and didn't eat or sleep much, but he was still a perfect student, stayed out of trouble – well, he caused trouble and didn't get caught – and never left a mess anywhere. He should have been a parent's dream child.

"Oh, I see," Minami said. "How are you, Ryoma-kun?"

Ryoma didn't know how to act. Obviously, there was something about the woman that he didn't know and it had made Ryoga forgive her. But he didn't know what so he couldn't judge her. "I'm fine," he said nonchalantly. That wasn't judging or disrespectful but at the same time it wasn't as respectful as Ryoga was to his mother.

Ryoga coughed a few times and Minami's heart sunk into her chest. "Ryo-Ryo, are you okay?" she asked. "You're only twenty-one, right?"

Ryoga nodded, getting his breath back. "Yeah. Taiki's four years old already," Ryoga said, trying to change the subject. Obviously Minami was very used to him changing the subject.

"Ryoga." She sounded serious. "Take care of yourself, okay? I don't want you getting sick like me."

Ryoga chuckled. "Yes, yes. I know. But it's not like I have a choice in the matter."

"No, not at all," Minami said with a tiny smile but sadness in her voice. "It is genetic."

Ryoma was very, very confused at this point. "What's going on?" he almost whispered out, not even intending on saying it. He was muttering to himself and somehow he had managed to say it out loud.

The pair's attention diverted to Ryoma in an instant. "You haven't told him?" Minami asked. "He's your brother, for goodness sake!"

Ryoga shook his head. "I wasn't planning on telling him for a while," Ryoga said honestly. "Down our grandmother's family, there's a genetic disease that kills us all. You won't get it because you're not blood related to the old woman, but I'll get it – I've got it – Taiki will get it, my grandchildren will get it, their children will get it… so on, so forth."

"You have it?" Minami said with sadness in her voice. "I-I'm sorry. Ryo-Ryo…"

"It's not your fault," Ryoga said kindly. "You never know. It might change for some reason. Maybe I'll get better."

Minami chuckled. "That's what I said to the old lady when I was your age," she said with a smile. "The old woman always had big ideas but this one affected the whole family. She was a bit crazy, but her plans worked."

Ryoga nodded. "That one inherited her house. He basically lives there," Ryoga pointed out. "You probably work her kooky shop too, don't you Ryoma?"

Ryoma nodded. He didn't expect Ryoga to know about that. Then again, Ryoga was a few years older than he was so she was probably more trusting with him. Ryoma knew his grandmother didn't lie – she avoided topics as much as she could. Sometimes it was abrupt, but it was sometimes subtle; his grandmother had a way with words.

"Strange though…" Minami muttered. "I never thought you'd be a vampire, Ryoma."

Ryoma was very surprised, but not as surprised as Ryoga. Ryoga almost fell over. He knew they existed but he didn't think he'd ever be in close contact with one. "Vampire? Ryoma is human, aren't you, Chibisuke?"

"Oh, I must be getting paranoid," Minami apologised. "I'm sorry, Ryoma-kun. I could have sworn you were very vampire like. I'm very sorry."

Ryoga laughed. "After all, both his parents are human," he pointed out helpfully. Ryoma was still silent.

"There are other ways to become a vampire, Ryo-Ryo," Minami said.

"Yes, yes. I know that," Ryoga said. "Vampires don't live around here though."

"How often do you visit Thomerson's Creek, Ryo-Ryo?"

"There are no humans living in Thomerson's Creek, Ryoga," Ryoma pointed out and Minami looked at him.

"He's right, Ryo-Ryo," Minami said. "There are no humans in Thomerson's Creek and never has been. The only one was the old lady and we all know she doesn't count. She founded the place back when. I think it was when Masao was a boy."

"I'm not even going to pretend I know who and what you are talking about," Ryoga said with a sigh. His mother spoke as if his grandmother had been alive for hundreds of years.

"Oh, I see," she said. "That woman had more secrets than truthful tales." Minami got up, her body shaking as she tried to move around the room. Ryoga instantly jumped to his feet to try and get his mother to lie back down. "Ryoga, I'm fine. The old woman asked me to give these to you two." She held out two envelopes. "It has things about her she thought you should know but you can't show them to anyone. If you do, there's going to be a lot of chaos."

Ryoma took his and opened it, the first line written to him in cursive script.

_Ryoma, dear, I'm so sorry you had to see me die in front of you. I know it was horrible. I had known it was going to happen as soon as I found out you were born._

_I always knew that one day you would be like what I used to be: a vampire. That's right, Ryoma. I was born a vampire and remained like that for many, many years. I had come across lots of different ingredients that were safe for our kind. We had a disadvantage – those medicines the humans shared killed us off and remain to even as we have evolved over time._

_But one day, I found the cure. Someone had come to me with a strange disease - her name was Cecilia Kaidoh and was human at the time - and I tried to formulate some sort of medicine to make her better. To this day, I believe she is still alive. The cure I made I tested on myself and became ill myself. When I woke up, I was human. I never gave the cure to Cecilia – it was still too dangerous and I doubted it would do any good for her. She was already human. But she had a child a few years old, Masao Jonathan Kaidoh, who had made her even more ill with his birth. She was in the early stages of pregnancy with a second child so I had to help her. After the birth of her second and third children, Elaine Makoto and Michael Hideyoshi, she had to become a vampire or she never would have survived. To this day, she is immortal._

_The cure still exists. After you have read this letter, I want you to destroy it. Do not leave any evidence it existed. Write down anything about Cecilia but do not mention the cure at all if you must. Please memorise this. If it falls into the wrong hands, then the world will become victim to vampires. The human race will die._

_You must protect the cure. Use it if you must to become human but please beware that the cure means that every child you have and all of their children will die. The entire blood-related family shall die of the same horrible, painful death. Taiki, Taiki's children, Taiki's grandchildren and so on, so forth shall all die the exact same way. I am well aware it is the dream of many in the vampire race to be human. There is nothing more painful for a vampire to know that they cannot live among humans peacefully. Even the vampires who do live amongst them still are in much pain to remain a secret. I am sure you have experienced this for yourself. That control is hard to keep._

_The cure is the object wanted by a few of the elders. Those few do not want it to become human, but to make the human race all knowledgeable of vampires and humans to become the hunting grounds for vampires. That the vampires can feast as much as they wish and for times to return to the time of barbarianism. Please find the cure and protect it. _

_The reason why I told you about Cecilia before is because her eldest son, Masao, is the cause of the elder's evil wishes. If you kill her eldest son, the elders shall give up, or at least postpone, their attempt for domination of the world. You can find out more about him from either Bartholomew Wilkinson or Kaoru Kaidoh. Anyone else in their family will leave out details to protect him. None of the members of the family know the evil Masao possesses. The fate of the world is in your hands, as corny as it sounds._

_Please, Ryoma. Protect the cure and kill Masao Jonathan Kaidoh._

_Your loving grandmother._

Ryoma folded the note and put it in his pocket. Ryoga was in shock, staring his brother in the face. Ryoga's jaw could have quite easily been on the floor. "You're-"

Ryoma went silent. He heard the paper in Ryoga's hands begin to crumple, a sudden realisation hitting him like a rock to the head. She had told him _everything._

"He's a vampire," Minami said with a smile. "I told you."

Ryoma nodded as he put his hands in his pocket. "I am," he admitted. "I have to go." Ryoma left the room quickly. Ryoga was in absolute shock.

"Ryoga," Minami said with complete seriousness. "I am going to die within the next few days. You must not tell anyone about your brother."

--

**Yay! Thanks to my new beta Eternal Angel! (It kept deleting the name for some reason when I put the full stop in the middle. -shrugs-)  
**

**A few notes about the chapter – Saiyuki, where I refer to Son Goku, is another name for the movie Monkey Magic. Son Goku calls himself 'ore-sama' as well and is the 'Monkey King'. This is where we, Frog-kun and I, guess the name 'Monkey King' from Ryoma to Atobe comes from.**

**I don't think I have anything else to say other than I'm sorry this is so late. Chapter eight is almost done, so be expecting that soon! Don't forget to vote in the pole and tell me who you think the bad guy is!  
**

**Asami-chann.**


	8. The Mission

**Chapter Eight – The Mission**

Ryoma returned to his Thomerson's Creek home with more floating through his mind than during his math exams. Inside was a mess, for a reason Ryoma couldn't quite put his finger on, the complete opposite state from what he left it. It suddenly clicked.

"SYUUSUKE!" he yelled, storming through the house. Syuusuke was sitting at the counter with a book open, looking up at Ryoma in a lot of confusion.

"Oh, you're home," Syuusuke said with a small smile. "Okaer-"

"Don't 'Okaeri' with me, Syuusuke. Who made this mess?" Ryoma said. If there was something he treasured, it was his grandmother's house.

"Saa…"

"Syuusuke!"

"Ryoma, calm down," Syuusuke said with a smile. "I didn't do it. I woke up and it was already like this. There was a note on the table waiting for you. Something about a cure…"

Ryoma snatched it away from Syuusuke and read it. It was the elders; they had come and searched the house while he was gone. They had also taken his 'prey' - or rather, his schoolmates. Ryoma growled. Not only did they ruin his home but also take his food – they were going to pay.

Syuusuke stood up. "Well, thanks for your hospitality. I think I should be getting back to the others. I'm sure you're enjoying me being around as much as I am enjoying being here."

"That's not my fault," Ryoma said as he folded his arms. "You look fine. You should be alright if you keep doing whatever you do like normal."

Syuusuke walked to the front door, Ryoma close behind. "I guess I'll be seeing you around while I'm here."

Ryoma sighed. He didn't even utter a word as Syuusuke left. Ryoma just closed the door and pulled the note from his pocket.

_You can find out more about him from either Bartholomew Wilkinson or Kaoru Kaidoh. Anyone else in their family will leave out details to protect him. None of the members of the family know the evil Masao possesses. The fate of the world is in your hands, as corny as it sounds._

_Please, Ryoma. Protect the cure and kill Masao Jonathan Kaidoh._

Ryoma shook his head, trying to waver the thoughts of killing someone. He had done so a few times before, but he waited until he was desperate and by the sounds of his grandmother, time was of the essence. Kaoru Kaidoh, the name was familiar but it wasn't clicking.

"Kaidoh-senpai?" Ryoma asked himself out loud. He shared the same name. Kaidoh was also an immortal, wasn't he? So Kaidoh knew this Masao person?

Ryoma wrote down the names of Cecilia, her children, Bartholomew and Kaidoh for future reference. He looked at the envelope as he went to put the paper back in to burn it to ashes. There was a smaller piece of paper inside and it held directions. To what, Ryoma was unsure, but he had to find it if it was from his grandmother.

After a few hours of following the coded trail, Ryoma had found a door he had never seen before. It was only because he had tried to keep everything identical to how it was when his grandmother owned the house that he had never found it. The door had a small plate on it. Ryoma looked back at the tiny note.

_A vampire's desire is the key._

Well, that was easy: blood. Ryoma bit gently into his finger and the door suddenly clicked open. There was a recording that suddenly played.

"Ryoma, you've found it," his grandmother's voice said from the tiny recording. "Please protect it with your life."

Ryoma knew it was no longer safe. He had found it, so others could do so now just as easily. He had to hide it. But where to go… Ryoma would find somewhere.

--

Elaine sat her head down on her hand. She was well and truly bored. The chair she was in luckily had an arm so she could rest her head down without too much effort. "What the fuck is it?" she asked, as the door opened. She had snuck into the head office of VCMC, trying to spend the odd quiet time she had away from anyone who could possibly annoy her.

"Oh, it's you, Ella," Lachlan said with a smile.

"Don't you dare call me 'Ella'," Elaine hissed, but not with as much malice as she usually would hold. Perhaps he was someone she could trust. No other man she had met had accepted that she hated them for what seemed to be no reason so easily. Lachlan had just shrugged and kept talking anyway. It was like he didn't care. She could love him or hate him and it wouldn't make a difference to him whatsoever.

"I'm sorry," Lachlan apologised. "It's very strange for you to have any free time. You're usually out… 'working.'"

"Is that my fucking fault?" Elaine swore. "You're the one who gives me all the work."

"That's true, that's true," Lachlan said with a smile. "Well, why don't you come out with me for a bit? It's been a while since I've gone out with anybody and I'm sure you haven't been out with anyone for a while either."

Elaine wasn't sure. There was something about him – a strange familiarity – that she couldn't help but like. She hated him because he was a man and men had always let her down but there was just something about him that made her trust him. She could never put her finger quite on it.

"Oh, what the hell," she said, agreeing as she got up. Maybe going outside and seeing the modern world as something other than a breeding ground for crime and evil. Her free time was usually spent with her family – those of which weren't all that good examples of the modern world.

"I heard about this nice little Japanese style restaurant. I'm sure you haven't had any Japanese food in years," Lachlan said with the smile. "You're father was the Japanese one, wasn't he?"

Elaine frowned. "One – yes, you're right. Two – Don't bother talking about my father to me."

Lachlan smiled. "Well, okay then. I won't." There it was again. That carefree 'well, okay' that proved he really didn't care what he could and could not do. If he couldn't do it, he wouldn't. It didn't upset him at all.

--

Ryoma stood outside the home where Bartholomew Wilkinson resided. He wasn't going to ask his senpai – he was avoiding the group of them already – so he'd chance himself with a stranger. From what he had seen of the man, he was quiet, blunt and uncaring. That meant the details would be the least changed.

"What is it?" a gruff voice said, the door opening. The man was nothing but muscle, but still thin. He had the kind of glare that could scare you to a literal death. By looking at him, fear ran straight through your veins even if you didn't look in his eyes. If you looked in his eyes, you were going to collapse.

Ryoma noticed this and kept his eyes down. He was thought to be fearless, except that first time he killed someone, so he refused to show that this man did intimidate him even in the slightest. Perhaps finding his senpai was a better idea after all.

"I want to know about Masao Jonathan Kaidoh," Ryoma said as bluntly as he could. "Are you Bartholomew Wilkinson?"

"I am," he said, sounding slightly annoyed. His voice was almost bored. "Got anything for me to eat?"

Ryoma was confused. "What?" he asked. "Something to eat?"

"A snack," Bartholomew said, "Oh never mind. What's your name, brat?"

"Echizen Ryoma," he said as he looked up at the man. His expression had softened somewhat, but it was still strong. Bartholomew opened the door to let Ryoma in, Ryoma taking in his surroundings. There wasn't much inside in the way of furniture.

"Sit," Bartholomew ordered and Ryoma almost sat right in his place. "Masao, when he was with us, was a good child. He was always respectful and was quiet. I guess that was what made him like his father. But we could never tell what Masao was thinking. We always had the feeling that he was plotting something but we ignored it."

Bartholomew sat down himself, staring at Ryoma. "Masao was close to his sister, Elaine, and always called her by her Japanese name 'Makoto'. They were incredibly close. But an elder who is dead now used to try and convince Masao that we were slowly killing him. We could see him deny it but he began to believe it. That was when we really saw him change. He left us without anyone noticing in about the seventeenth century."

Ryoma listened intently. So far, he had only heard things that didn't seem to significant. The only thing he would remember as important would be that he was mysterious and he was convinced that his family were killing him. "Is that all you know about him?"

Bartholomew sighed. "What's it to you?" he asked. "He's probably dead. Get over it."

"Thank you for your time."

--

Elaine sat on her side of the table, a small cup in her hand, tapping on the table. "I didn't think places like this existed," she admitted. "How do you find these places?"

"They've been around for about ten or so years. There are really common these days," Lachlan said with a smile. "Vampires have been trying our best to blend in for the last few years."

Elaine laughed. "It seems we know less about current times than I thought," she said.

"So you can speak without swearing," Lachlan said in amusement. "You sound much nicer that way. I like you better when you're like this."

Elaine blushed as she tried to hide her face behind her face. She had a small, nervous laugh as she put down the cup. "What the fuck are you talking about? Don't go all sappy on me."

Lachlan sighed and then began to laugh a little. "You spoiled it," he said as he brushed the hair from her face. "I was finally thinking you could go without letting your mouth off for a while."

Elaine smirked. "Right," she said. "Whatever drugs you're on, you better get off of 'em before you get any more fucked in the head."

Lachlan laughed rather loudly. Obviously he didn't care that he was laughing 'his head off' in a public restaurant either. Elaine gave him a strange look, hinting that he should stop what he was doing before they were kicked out of the restaurant. Well, it was pretty loud with all the chefs and others inside as well, so he wasn't too loud. Perhaps Elaine was just feeling a little intimidated.

"Drugs?" he asked once he calmed down a little. "Oh, no. I don't 'do' drugs. I'm just a happy, nice person who is stuck with the job of assigning people to kill one another." He covered his mouth, trying to suppress the remaining giggles. "In fact, at first, I was doing your job. Then the guy that was my boss became one of the undead and I had to kill him so I became the boss, but that's another story."

Elaine sighed. A waitress kindly came over and filled up the cups with more blood, which Elaine thought must have been a really good imitation because it looked more like wine, and bowed a little. Elaine just looked at the woman as she turned on her heel and walked away.

"Jealous?" Lachlan teased as she started to walk off. "She is pretty cute, too."

Elaine shook her head. "Why would I be jealous of _that_?" she asked.

"Oh, you have ego issues too," Lachlan said in realisation. "Maybe that's why you hate men…"

Elaine froze. Okay, so it was obvious that she really disliked any man she had ever met, except for Mikey who was her little brother, but it wasn't because she had an ego or anything. "What are you fucking talking about?" she asked as she picked up her cup again, taking a sip.

Lachlan smiled. "Oh, never mind. I was trying to figure out why you act the way you do," he explained. "I've always been a curious person. There are so many mysteries in this world that haven't been answered yet."

"Why are you creating mysteries then?" Elaine asked.

Lachlan stopped, almost in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"There are so many people wondering why their child had to die. You're making me kill people and sometimes traces are left behind. It creates a mystery – what caused it to happen?" she answered with her head held high.

Lachlan smiled. "That is a good one," he said, placing his fists under his chin. "I guess it's because I know the answer. Mysteries are fun to solve, so I like to share."

"By killing people?"

"I never told you I _didn't _like assigning people to kill each other," Lachlan replied as if it were obvious. "A little war never hurt anyone." Lachlan paused for a moment to think through what he had just said. "Okay, maybe it did."

"So you would be happy if I were to find out my brother is dead after all of these years?" she replied almost instantly before covering her mouth to prevent herself from saying anymore. She wanted to take the words back.

"Your brother?" Lachlan asked. "Mikey?"

"Don't worry you're pretty little head," she said, trying to sound strong again. But she had already done it. She could hear her voice become quiet.

"Oh, Masao," Lachlan said as if he really should have thought of that first. "He was a nice boy. A bit on the kooky side, if you ask me."

Elaine looked surprised. "You know Masao?"

Lachlan smiled. "Of course. He worked for my boss as well, before my boss died. Then Masao completely disappeared forever. I haven't seen him since. That was about… two hundred, maybe three hundred years ago now. Nice boy, but he was a little on the strange side."

"You saying someone's strange?" Elaine pointed out. "That's like the pot calling the kettle black."

"I see," Lachlan said with a smile. "I guess I'm a little strange too. But he was… different. He hated all vampires because of some silly thing about them wanting to kill him. He was paranoid. He wanted to become human so desperately he was after this woman who lived only a town or so away from here. Thomerson's Creek, I think. Either way, he thought she knew how to make vampires human. I didn't believe him until the woman did become human herself about… sixty or so years ago. She had grandchildren and a great grandchild before she was murdered a few years ago."

"I see," Elaine said. She hadn't heard from her older brother in centuries. But now she wasn't sure if he really was the same person anymore. "Do you think he's alive?" she asked.

Lachlan shrugged. "I don't see how he couldn't have survived."

--

Eiji sat with a frown on his face, worry deep in his eyes. He knew one day Momo would probably end up with food poisoning – the boy did eat _way _too much – but it had been days since Momo had been able to eat anything. He couldn't even intake blood. It had probably been close to a week since Momo originally got sick. It had been so soon after Oishi had died, no one really paid too much attention to Momo's worsening condition until Momo wasn't getting up in the morning anymore. The first two days, he'd drag himself out of bed and pretend to be fine for the others – they were all grieving – but that third morning he just couldn't do it.

Tezuka took the towel from Momo's forehead and checked Momo's temperature. Momo was really warm. He took the towel and ran it under the tap before laying it on the bench, slipping a few ice-cubes in the folds and resting it back on Momo's head. It was so quiet in the room. No one really was in the mood to speak. Momo was ill and they had lost two of their friends.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Eiji asked quietly. Inui had gone out to convince Kaidoh to come back and Ryoma and Syuusuke certainly wouldn't come back to them. It was just the three of them left.

Tezuka was silent for what felt like a long time. "I think we have to take him to a hospital," he said finally. VCMC wasn't as safe anymore after the attack. Doctors were being over cautious. Besides that, some of the doctors at VCMC were ruthless. Neither of the pair would be surprised if a doctor told them Momo was going to die anyway so they put him out of his misery.

Eiji didn't like the sound of the words. Hospitals were not places for vampires. Medication _killed _vampires and that was what hospitals gave almost everyone who walked through the doors. "Do we have to?" he said, purely out of worry for the consequences that may have come around. "I'm sure we could talk to Fuji and he'll find a good doctor at VCMC for us, nya."

Tezuka shook his head. "We need to take Momo to a human hospital. VCMC won't do," he replied curtly. Eiji knew that Tezuka made up his mind.

--

The hospital was full of life, doctors and nurses flying from room to room, patients coming in and out of doors. "Mr. Kunimitsu, if you don't mind, could you please fill out some paperwork at the desk?" a doctor asked. "It would be appreciated if you help too, Mr. Eiji."

Tezuka frowned a little further as Eiji began to laugh a little. "Come on, Kunimitsu, nya," Eiji teased, making fun of what the nurses and doctors didn't seem to understand. Obviously they didn't quite understand the mechanics of a lot of Asian names, surnames first and given names last. They had all been calling them Mr. Kunimitsu and Mr. Eiji the whole time.

"Be quiet, Kikumaru, or you'll be running laps of the hospital," Tezuka said with a little more force than usual in his voice. A doctor walked in the door, gently looking over his notes and giving a small nod as the pair left the room.

Together, Tezuka and Eiji looked over the papers. They filled in what they could, from allergies – aka medication – to whether he had been sick within the last few years. Momo was rarely sick. If he was, he had a cold that went away in a matter of a few days. "I think that's it," Eiji murmured to Tezuka as they flicked through for the last time. They handed it to the nurse and the nurse checked over.

"You can go back to your friend now, Mr. Kunimitsu, Mr. Eiji."

Tezuka and Eiji both walked back into the room. The doctor stood, looking at the pad of notes, minus the information they had just given the nurse. "Oh, Mr. Kunimitsu, Mr. Eiji."

"I'm very sorry, but Kunimitsu and Eiji are our given names, sir," Tezuka said politely. "We're Japanese."

The doctor went quiet for a few moments. "My apologies, Mr. Tezuka, Mr. Kikumaru," he said to confirm that he did remember what he thought was their given names. "Your friend, Takeshi, seems to have a bad case of food poisoning so we gave him some medication to fix him right up." The doctor went silent when both of the boys looked at each other, giving each other a grave look. "Is something the matter? Do you know how to speak English?"

The words had completely left their minds. They could say it clearly in Japanese but neither of them could think of the words in English. "Med-… it's," Eiji stuttered out.

"It's bad," Tezuka managed to say. "Momoshiro is... what's the word?"

"All… alla… ella?" Eiji tried to reply.

"I'll get one of the nurses," the doctor replied as he left the room in a slight hurry.

Tezuka instantly walked over to Momo, pulling out an IV that was slowly letting morphine into his boy. Tezuka was completely fine with the smell of blood, but Eiji had instantly covered his mouth and nose, trying not to breathe any in.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing?" a nurse barked in Japanese as she walked into the room. "Leave it alone. You'll make him bleed to death."

Tezuka continued to try and turn off the machine; he wanted medication as far away from Momo has possible. Eiji, who was still covering his mouth and nose, replied for their former captain. "Momo is allergic to _all _medicine," he replied, slightly muffled by his hand. "Severely allergic. Your doctor has given him a death sentence, nya."

The nurse went quiet. "We'll fix him," she said, "we'll give him antihistamines and he'll be fine."

"No!" Eiji yelled. "He's severely allergic to _every medication. _He's going to die!" Eiji began to cry, holding his hands tightly over his nose and mouth.

The doctor just watched, unable to understand what was going on. The nurse turned to him with a grave look on her face. "Takeshi is going to die. He's allergic to _all _medication, even antihistamines."

The doctor's expression dropped. "I'm so sorry," he said. He was trying to help. He looked at the monitor as heart rate of Momo's dropped steadily until it was nothing.

Tezuka's arms dropped to his side, looking straight at Momo. "Momoshiro," he said, as if almost saying he was sorry for ever deciding they were to come here. Eiji had collapsed to his knees, blood red tears coming from his eyes. Eiji wiped them away quickly, not letting the doctor and nurse see them. Blood certainly wasn't healthy to be coming out of eye sockets.

Tezuka walked over to Eiji, gently lifting the red head to his feet. "Kikumaru, it's okay. Momoshiro isn't sick anymore," he comforted. Eiji's head snapped up, blood pouring from his eyes and eyes a deep red.

"It's your fault!" Eiji growled, shoving Tezuka away. He looked furious. "If you didn't make us bring him here, then he'd be alive!" Tezuka stood up, holding his hands up defensively. They weren't in fists, standing in a way that made it seem that he was simply surrendering.

"Kikumaru-kun, please calm down," the nurse said, stepping a little closer. Eiji shot her a glance, her entire body freezing with fear as she saw the blood red rage from his eyes and blood dripping down his face. "Kikumaru-kun, are you okay?"

Eiji looked back behind her where the doctor said. "It's your fault, too! Mou, if you hadn't given him any medicine, he'd be fine!" he yelled in Japanese. The doctor had a fair idea what Eiji was saying; he had been blamed a few times before.

"Kikumaru!" Tezuka said in a strong voice. "Calm down."

Eiji turned on his heel, grabbing at Tezuka's neck with ease. "Don't think I'll _ever _forgive you for this," Eiji growled. "Nya, you could have let him be or taken him to VCMC but we had to come to a hospital for pathetic humans! He was given a death sentence as soon as we pulled him through the door!"

The nurse didn't quite understand what she was hearing. She was raised in a Japanese-American family, learning the language back to front and did all of her medical assignments twice, once in English, once in Japanese so she could, if she wanted to, work in Japan as a nurse. Either that, or being able to do everything in a second language would look very good on her application to the hospital. But never had she heard someone speak of humans as pathetic; they only treated humans, after all, not animals.

"I'm sorry, Kikumaru-kun, but you have to calm down," the nurse said. "I'm sorry we couldn't do anything for your friend."

Tezuka grabbed a hold of Eiji's shoulder tightly, his fingers curling under the muscle across the top of his shoulders. He knew it hurt after destroying that same muscle before. When Eiji began to pull away, he gripped tighter, pushing his fingers in under as if to start to rip it away from his shoulder. Eiji yelped and stopped moving.

"Thank you for your hospitality. We'll be taking Momoshiro now," Tezuka said with a slight bow. "We're sorry to waste your time."

--

Eiji banged on the door, yelling inside for someone to answer. "I know you're in there, nya!"

The door opened, Ryoma holding his glasses in one hand while he rubbed his eyes. "Ah, senpai-tachi," he said in surprise.

Eiji wrapped his arms around the shorter teen's shoulders, squeezing him while resisting the urge to cry. "O'chibi, today's been horrible," he almost cried. "First Inui was trying to get Kaidoh home and then Momo was still sick so we took him to the hospital and the stupid doctor gave him medicine and he died." The whole thing was said so fast Ryoma could barely understand it.

"Kikumaru, you need to speak slower," Inui said, his arms folded. "There's an eighty-three percent chance that he didn't understand you."

"Momo-senpai is dead?" Ryoma said, everything Eiji said clicking into place.

"But he always seems to defy my data," Inui then pointed out. "Yes, Momoshiro died earlier today."

Ryoma felt tears on his shoulder. "Stupid Tezuka, making us take Momo to hospital," Eiji began to mutter, followed by numerous rambles about how the doctor gave Momo medicine and Tezuka almost ripped the muscle off of his shoulder.

Tezuka frowned more, if that were possible. "Kikumaru insisted we come here to break away from where we saw everyone last, considering we're now three members short of our old team."

"Only three?" Kaidoh questioned. "Fuji hasn't joined our group again, has he?"

"No, no," Inui said, seeming to have understood Tezuka. "He means three of our old team have _died._ Kawamura, Oishi and Momo."

They all went inside, trying not to touch on the topic of any of their lost friends. It was nice, being the five of them. Ryoma tried to pay attention, but he couldn't. He ended up putting on his glasses and half listened, half read a book. The others just talked about their adventures.

"Ne, o'chibi, the elders broke into your house, didn't they?" Eiji pointed out, looking at one of the walls as he got up, looking behind a door. Ryoma hadn't even noticed him get up. Ryoma instantly remembered the door. It was the one room his grandmother had told him was her private study. He was never allowed to go in there and never had.

He nodded. "Yeah. A few days ago…"

Eiji pushed open the door, a marking on the wall. Ryoma got up, looking at what was on those walls. He saw picture frames, some articles stuck to walls and notes, stuck up all over the wall. He noticed black marker streaked across the walls, making a messy group of characters.

"We'll keep coming until we get what we want," Inui read aloud. "Do you have something that interests the Elders, Echizen?"

"This was marked from years ago," Kaidoh pointed out, looking over at the smaller characters under the messy ones.

"How can you tell that, Kaidoh?" Tezuka asked, finally speaking. He really hadn't been in the mood to talk. Eiji's accusations had actually got to him, not that he showed it. He'd _never _show it.

Kaidoh walked into the room, pointing at the smaller characters. "It's marked from Kaidoh Masao," he said, almost in shock himself. "He went missing centuries ago."

"Kaidoh… Masao?"

Kaidoh sighed. He had to explain this again. Thankfully, he had noticed his senpai got over the shock the first time. "Remember how Cecilia is… was my wife and Elaine and Mikey are my children?" he reminded them. They gave a nod. "Masao is my oldest son. He ran away… years before I did." Kaidoh picked up one of the pictures, almost dropping it. He couldn't be sure, but that looked like the woman who saved Cecilia. "Echizen…" he breathed. "Your grandmother saved Mikey's and Cecilia's life," he pointed out, in shock himself.

Ryoma walked in, looking at the picture. Sure enough, there was a family of what he recognised as the immortals, a smaller version of Elaine and what he imagined toddler Kaidoh would have looked like. There was a baby in Kaidoh's, who looked almost identical to what he looked like right then and there, arms, his grandmother in her youth – he recognised from pictures with Ryoga's mother sitting on the mantel piece – looking completely satisfied with herself. "That's my grandmother, but…"

"Your grandmother was a vampire," Kaidoh stuttered out. "She was alive before Cecilia was even born."

--

**(A/N: This chapter has not been beta-ed but I went over it like I do when I beta so I hope it's alright. It's very hard to beta your own work because you know what you were thinking... oh well. If anyone has seen , please tell me. She's disappeared off the face of the planet, hence why this came out so late. I hope you liked it. It's leading straight up to the climax now, but don't worry. There's a lot more to come. Don't forget to vote in the poll on my profile please! :)**

**Please review!**

**Asami-chann.)**


	9. Healing

**Chapter Nine – Healing**

Eiji's snuggled in closer to Tezuka, his head lying on the former captain's lap. Tezuka had tried to push Eiji away, but just like a cat, Eiji had just gotten closer until Tezuka had given up. Tezuka was reading a book he found on the shelf that looked interesting yet not too difficult to read; every book in the house was in English, of course. Inui was looking through his note book, trying to refine his data on… something or the other and Kaidoh was staring at the pictures he had found of his own family. Every so often, he'd let out a small hiss and walk around for a little while to stretch his legs – once or twice he'd go for a jog around the area and come back – then come inside and stare at the pictures for another period of time before the process repeated.

Ryoma sighed. He wasn't quite sure about having his senpai over. Knowing his luck, Syuusuke would turn up and there really would be the old team all over again. Minus Momo, Oishi and Taka of course. It was interesting, seeing Tezuka actually accept Eiji lay with his head on his lap and not be instantly getting Eiji up to run laps for being inappropriately close to others. Well, just to Tezuka; Tezuka didn't seem to say much when Eiji was latching onto others. But Eiji was upset and even Tezuka didn't like watching others cry.

Kaidoh got up, stretching his legs again. One could tell that he was probably overwhelmed by memories, trying to work out what was going on. Inui looked at Kaidoh, hoping that someone would actually say something. But he knew the statistics that that would ever happen and they were quite low.

Eiji rolled over, splayed out across the couch in a playful cat-like fashion and snuggling himself into Tezuka's lap. Tezuka shuffled uncomfortably as he tried to move Eiji again. It seemed Eiji was quite the heavy sleeper. Eiji let out a quiet meow as he lay back fast asleep and everything went back still and silent.

Eiji rolled over at the sound of slight shuffling, Tezuka again shuffling uncomfortably under the redhead. Eiji rolled over a little too far that time, falling off the couch and becoming splayed across the floor. There was a slight grunt and a meow from the red head as he sat up.

Kaidoh couldn't help but let a smile creep up on his lips. His 'senpai' were always interesting to be around.

Eiji frowned, rubbing his eyes before he basically jumped back onto the couch, this time on the opposite end to Tezuka and looking over the arm to try and see in Inui's notes. "What cha writing, Inui?" he asked. Inui quite happily obliged to tell Eiji all the data he was updating and how he did so. Eiji didn't quite understand how Inui did it all in his head.

"I'm going out for a while," Kaidoh said quietly before he walked through the house, leaving out the front door again.

Eiji watched as Kaidoh left. "Oh, he's gone."

"Point out the obvious, senpai," Ryoma said mockingly.

Eiji frowned. "That's mean, o'chibi. We haven't been here for long."

Everyone just looked at Eiji. "How long do you think we've been here, Kikumaru?" Inui asked.

Eiji shrugged. "An hour, maybe."

"Try six hours, Kikumaru-senpai," Ryoma pointed out. "You were asleep on buchou's lap the whole time." Eiji was certainly surprised. Surely Tezuka would have pushed Eiji away if he started to lie on his lap. Tezuka was completely anti-contact. There really was a reason Eiji didn't touch Tezuka – Tezuka didn't touch anyone if he didn't have to. If it wasn't in the spirit of sportsmanship, it just didn't happen. To people who knew him, any unnecessary contact would make Tezuka uncomfortable and usually ended up badly. Eiji learned this the hard way.

"Ah, sorry Tezuka," Eiji apologised. Tezuka nodded and looked back down at the book he was reading.

--

Kaidoh sighed, trying to gain some sort of control over the emotions he thought he had locked away long ago. He had been taught to be a fighter as a child – to defend himself and others without being bothered by such things as petty emotions. He was a creature of habit indefinitely – never drink blood during the day, emotions hidden, disciplined and strong.

He looked up, not realising he had jogged the whole way back to the main city. He walked, burying his hands in his pockets. He missed his family, but he could do without them. They didn't really trust him anymore anyway. He could only imagine how Masao would be treated if he ever came back.

"Kaoru," a familiar voice came to him.

He looked up. "Beth."

Beth smiled. "What's the matter?" she asked. Kaidoh was very confused. How could she tell? "A mother knows, Kaoru."

To be honest, Kaidoh had always been freaked out by how well Beth knew exactly what Kaidoh was thinking. It was like she was an expert at mind reading. But she had been around enough people she could almost guarantee she knew exactly what _anyone _was thinking. "I was just remembering the past," he said, trying to sound nonchalant. It didn't work.

"Oh, did you hear about the time we gave Cecilia a phone?" Beth started to laugh before she even told the story. "When we first got to America, we thought we should give Cecilia a phone in case she got lost or something happened. We all got one. But the first time it rang, she threw it on the ground and it smashed enough that it would probably barely work, and then she stood on it and kicked it under a car's tyres. It looked like a plastic pancake. We didn't give her another one because she almost did the same with Elaine's."

Kaidoh chuckled just a little. He could completely imagine it. Cecilia had never been one to adapt too well to the 'modern world'. She much preferred the time she was born. In fact so did Kaidoh. There was no technology to trace him wherever he went. Due to some possibly bad decisions to go into the tennis world, he was sure that people would still recognise him due to pictures and magazines in the future. But if he stayed away from Japan for a while once he decided to leave, he could claim to be a descendant at least.

"It must be weird having lived with actual relatives for the last few years, Kaoru," Beth said. "But I suppose that's why you looked so much like them."

Kaidoh folded his arms. It was true – the only reason he had stuck with his family is because they were actually related. Somehow, they had managed to trace right back to his father's father, which meant they were very long distance cousins of his. The uncanny resemblance that still ran through the family had made him fit right in. But he knew eventually he'd have to move on because he didn't age like they did.

"I guess it did bring back memories at first," he murmured with a hiss. "But I got used to it. They're different people to my parents."

Beth smiled as she put an arm around Kaidoh's shoulders. Kaidoh flinched a little, unused to the contact. "Bartholomew and I have been your parents ever since!" she said happily. "You know that we love you like you're our own son, right?"

Kaidoh looked at Beth, trying to inch away just a little. "Only because you can't have a son," he stated clearly. "That and you killed my parents."

Beth patted his shoulder, bringing him in close. "That's only a few minor details! It's no matter!"

Kaidoh shook his head. Beth didn't understand that killing someone's parents then adopting them _was _a big deal. But then again, his family, be it the one he was born into or the one he became a part of later, had always been very unconventional. They liked to leave a trail of destruction behind them; usually bodies were left behind.

--

Eiji smiled, looking at the pictures Kaidoh had left behind. He could see that Kaidoh had barely changed whatsoever. It was a bit strange seeing Kaidoh looking somewhat happy – it was certainly the closest to a smile Eiji had ever seen on Kaidoh's face – and with his arm around someone, particularly a woman. He had a little girl in his other arm and she held onto his shoulder and shied away from the painter. On first observation, it had been painted and preserved so well it looked like a photograph, but it was certainly a painting.

"Kaidoh's family certainly are cute," Eiji murmured to himself. He began to remember his family in Japan. "I wonder how they are, nya…"

Inui peered over Eiji's shoulder. "From what I understand, that's Cecilia beside him, Elaine behind him, Masao beside Cecilia and baby Michael in his arms," Inui explained.

Eiji smiled. "I want a baby…"

Inui flinched for a second, the regained his composure. The Kikumaru family were very family orientated, so it was no surprise that Eiji wanted a family of his own. But they were still young, so Eiji could certainly wait. His two sisters and eldest brother were married now, so he had nieces and nephews to keep him occupied.

"The day will come, Kikumaru," Inui said reassuringly before going to investigate the whereabouts of everyone else.

--

Syuusuke inhaled the foul smoke, holding it in for just a second before exhaling. He couldn't quite understand how it was so therapeutic himself, but he wasn't going to deny it was. His family frowned upon it for a long time – 'you'll die before us!' 'Syuusuke, stop being so childish and irresponsible. Take care of your body, for goodness sakes.' 'If you don't put that out right this second I'm going to grab it and shove it in your face so it burns you and get doctors to cut out most of your lungs to save the process.' – and still did, but they acknowledged that without the cigarette, he had to almost constantly drink blood.

"Ah! Syuusuke-kun! The sky tells me many things on the dark side of the wind today!"

"Speak English!"

Telling Lachlan to speak in English was a regular sentence from Syuusuke. But strangely enough, Syuusuke was beginning to understand him. His Japanese had suddenly gotten better on occasion; Syuusuke heard Lachlan muttering to himself in _perfect _Japanese once. He tried not to be suspicious, but he couldn't help it. If he could speak perfectly when muttering to himself, then he should have been fine to speak to others in Japanese.

"I'm sorry, Syuusuke-kun," Lachlan apologised. "I'm just happy today."

Syuusuke sighed, throwing the cigarette butt on the floor and stepping on it until it went out. "I'm glad you're happy," he said with a slight grunt.

"Why are you not happy, Syuusuke-kun?" Lachlan asked, still maintaining the 'kun' even when speaking in English. "You're not thirsty, right? You've just satisfied that. What is it? Did your girlfriend stop wanting to be with you?"

Syuusuke almost hissed, but restrained himself. "I don't have a girlfriend, Lachlan. I broke up with my boyfriend years ago," he said, trying not to sound angry, but it really wasn't working.

Lachlan's smile dropped for a second then came back quickly. "Boyfriend, huh?" Lachlan said. "Was he cute? I bet you he was cute."

Syuusuke really didn't want to have this conversation with a smiling, babbling idiot like Lachlan. Syuusuke wasn't even sure if Lachlan deserved the benefit of the doubt anymore; Lachlan had yet to prove he actually had anything inside of his head. "He was, then he grew up."

"Was he five or something? Are you a paedophile?"

"No! I'm not a paedophile, you idiot," Syuusuke growled. "Why am I having this conversation with you? That relationship is well and truly over. How is your love life, Lachlan?" He was trying to change the subject as fast as possible.

"Well," Lachlan said with a sly smile, "I like a girl. She's very cute. But I don't think she likes me. She doesn't like any guys really. Besides, that would break any rules against employer-employee romance."

Syuusuke really didn't want to know, but he had gotten himself into it now. "Why not ask her out? You never know, she might like you back. Watch out for overprotective parents though. I've heard gunshots shot at a guy for wanting to be with a man's daughter once."

Lachlan smiled. "Thanks, Syuusuke-kun!" he said. "I should have known a gay guy would have the answers to my love troubles."

Syuusuke felt another growl build up in his throat, but he let it pass. He knew that he had only ever dated guys and wasn't really inclined to date a girl at all, but he never really applied the term 'gay' to himself. It made him feel like others were looking down on him. He could still win against them in a fight even though he was interested in men. He was no more feminine or weak than the average man. Okay, maybe he was more feminine than the average man, but he certainly wasn't weaker than one.

Lachlan pranced off, quite happy with himself. Syuusuke pulled out another cigarette. He was already feeling that Lachlan-induced migraine setting in.

--

"Ella!"

"Don't fucking call me- Lachlan! What are you doing here?" Elaine said in surprise. She should have known it was Lachlan. No one else had the guts to call her Ella other than Mikey, but Elaine liked her little brother.

Lachlan smiled. "Go out with me," he insisted. He stopped for a second. "Where are my manners? Please go out with me."

Elaine tilted her head to the head in confusion. "Don't you have work? We can't go out to do something now."

Lachlan sighed dejectedly. "No, _go out_ with me," he insisted.

Elaine was in shock. "What the fuck are you thinking?"

"Well, I asked Syuusuke and he said I should ask you out because I like you and he said that you might like me too, maybe," Lachlan tried to explain. "I didn't tell him who you were, but he wasn't happy today and we ended up talking about his old boyfriend and I told him-"

"I get the rest of it," Elaine said. "What part of you could ever think about liking me, Lachlan? I swear, I'm rude to everyone I know and I don't usually consider men as anything other than trash."

"But you don't consider me trash… do you?"

"No, not really…"

"Then we're destined to be!" Lachlan smiled. "I promise I won't leave you. That's why you hate men, isn't it? Your father and brother both left you."

Elaine nodded a little. "I guess so…"

"Please be my girlfriend," Lachlan insisted again.

--

Ryoma sat on the bonnet of his car, staring out at the vast nothingness around him. He could hear the rustling of trees behind him, birds settling down after being disturbed by Ryoma's headlights to rest overnight. Night time was peaceful. Not many people came out this far away from town.

Headlight grew stronger from behind him, causing him to shift his attention from the serenity of the area. "Excuse me, are you alright?" a police officer asked, obviously on patrol. "Have you broken down?"

"No, I'm fine. My license doesn't let me drive after eleven," Ryoma replied calmly. "So I'm waiting for my dad to come get me." Like Nanjirou would leave in the middle of the night to catch a taxi to somewhere almost two hours away from home.

The police officer nodded. "Very good initiative, son. Do you want a lift to town? Save your dad?"

Ryoma shook his head and checked his watch. "No, he'll be here soon. I'll be fine," Ryoma insisted. "I have a car, don't I?"

The police officer sighed. "Yes, I guess. If any trouble comes your way, the police are never far away," he said, dismissing himself.

"Trust me," Ryoma said and the police officer turned back to him, seeing his bleach white teeth gleam viciously. "Nothing will happen that I can't handle." A nervous shiver ran down the police officer's spine as he quickly walked away from the adolescent vampire. He barely got to the front of the station wagon when Ryoma opened his lips again. He was enjoying this way too much. "Oh, do you have something to drink? I'm _really _thirsty."

The police officer shook his head nervously. "No. No, not at all," he said. He obviously knew about vampires. Either that or he watched way too many horror movies. Ryoma was only stirring him up either way. "Your father will be here soon. I'm sure he'll have something." With that, the police officer disappeared, looking like a nervous wreck.

Ryoma chuckled. He enjoyed tormenting humans. They never knew what was coming.

--

**(AN: Guess who is alive… me! I apologise for not updating sooner. I sort of died and couldn't write anything half decent for a long, long time. But that's all passed over and I can write again. Yay! I should also note that I currently lack beta-reader (again) but I checked over it a lot so I hope it's up to standard at least.**

**Please review! I'll have the next chapter out asap.)**


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